From The Shadows I Rise
by Kagami Kyohara
Summary: Sequel to Naruto Estacado! Three years have passed since Naruto's death, and he's back yet again. More adventures, death, romance, drama and seriously funny stuff! Naruto/The Darkness crossover, NaruHarem Oc/Haku/Oc/Yugito/Fuu/Karin/Tayuya/Shion
1. Chapter 1: Recovery One

Three years had passed since the death of Uzumaki Naruto at the hands of Uchiha Sasuke, and Konoha had fallen into a depressing lull. While foolish villagers celebrated the death of the 'demon brat', Naruto's friends mourned his passing and none more so than the members of the Sasuke Retrieval Squad, Neru, Haku, Dani and Jiraiya. Jiraiya had found difficulty in conducting his 'research' without thinking of the blonde who would trap him every time he did.

Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji and Shino took on mission after mission, spending as little time as possible in the village. Many people were surprised at the amount of effort put in by the lazy Nara, but despite their comments he carried on. Neji had taken his admiration of Naruto to a new level, practically worshipping him. He held the blonde in the highest regard, even calling 'Naruto-sama'. Chouji frequented Ichiraku Ramen during his time in the village, as if in memory of his friend. Shino talked to no-one except for the other three, and even then it was usually short sentences, as if saving breath.

But it seemed to be Haku, Dani and Neru who had taken the blonde's death the hardest. Many drunken or stupid villagers who had decided in their infinite wisdom to badmouth their love interest in front of them soon found themselves in the hospital, with large scorches and burns across the skin and senbon made from ice protruding from places they _really _shouldn't be. But as time passed, less people were being sent to the intensive care ward, because less time was spent outside by the three girls. They would either be out on missions, usually with the SRS members, or staying within Naruto's small apartment doing little more than crying.

For most in the village, these three years had been truly sad.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama, he's waking up." He heard a feminine voice speak from somewhere above him. At the sound of that accursed name, his eyes shot open, their irises a bloody crimson as he glared up at the stone ceiling. He sat up, tearing wires and needles from his skin as he looked around the room furiously. A low growl escaped his throat as he sighted the source of his problems, the legendary Hebi Sannin, Orochimaru.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. So good to see you again. I had hoped you would wake up sooner, but I can't really be pick-" Orochimaru hissed, before Naruto's hand closed around his neck, its claws cutting into his pasty skin. Naruto lifted him from his feet with ease, and let out another growl, his whiskered features twisted into a vicious snarl.

"You!" He roared, closing his fist around Orochimaru's throat only for the snake-summoner to dissolve into a pile of mud. The real Orochimaru stepped through the doorway, donning a conniving smirk. Naruto jumped from the operating table he had been laying on toward Orochimaru, his claws bared as he let out a bestial roar. The Sannin stepped aside, dodging Naruto's assault easily as the blonde crashed into the opposite wall, caving in half of said wall and a large portion of the ceiling.

"I don't know what you're so mad about, Naruto-kun!" Orochimaru called in a sing-song voice, seeing Naruto leap from the rubble, a red aura surrounding him. "I brought you back here and fixed you up, and this is how you repay me? I wouldn't strain yourself, either way. You need to become more accustomed to your body, after the... adjustments I made."

"What are you talking about, you bastard?" He growled, his breath becoming heavy as he grew tired quickly. His legs gave out on him, and he collapsed to his knees, glaring weakly at the smirking Sannin. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"It was a shame, too." Orochimaru continued, appearing not to have heard Naruto. "It would be better if I had someone with more experience, but the last user died three years ago, just before Sasuke came to me. Too early for me to take his body."

"Answer me!" Naruto wheezed, as he began coughing blood onto the stone floor. "What the fuck is happening to me..." His eyes closed slowly, bringing with them the swift darkness of unconsciousness. Orochimaru's smirk grew, and he gestured to a pair of Oto-nin who had been awaiting orders, who picked up Naruto's incapacitated form and carried it back into the room, where they laid him on the table.

"Yes, it truly is a shame that Kimimaro died so soon. Oh well, you'll just have to become more accustomed to living with the curse of the Shikotsumyaku, won't you, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru said to himself, holding a hand to his forehead as he chuckled darkly.

Within Konoha, Tsunade sighed in exasperation, glaring at the irate pink-haired girl before her, and the quiet brown-haired boy standing in the corner. Haruno Sakura had been pestering her for the better part of three years to allow her to retrieve Sasuke, but every time he had declined. Of course, Jiraiya had just _happened _to let slip that Orochimaru would be able to use his body-stealing technique soon, and that had made the rosette more determined than ever before.

"Hokage-sama, I request to retrieve Sasuke-kun from Orochimaru!" She said, slamming her hand down on the desk. "I have already set up a team of myself, Kiba," She gestured to the teen in the corner, "Shikamaru and Kakashi-sensei." Tsunade sighed again and looked up at Sakura, glaring.

"Fine! If it'll get you out of here, I say go!" She yelled, shooing Sakura out the door. Sakura grinned and charged out of the door, dragging Kiba after her. _'Dammit, Naruto. Why did you have to leave? You're the only one that can keep Sakura in line.'_

"I take it she said yes?" Kakashi asked, seeing the grin on Sakura's face as she left the Hokage Tower, leaving Kiba in the dirt behind her. Sakura nodded enthusiastically and ran in the direction of the gate, leaving the three males behind.

"Huh... I can already tell this will be troublesome." Shikamaru complained, helping Kiba up. The dog boy simply nodded, saying nothing. "Man, at least talk. I need someone to keep me company if we're getting dragged on this wild goose chase."

"Well, maybe we'll find Naruto." He said quietly, making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow. The lazy nin chuckled lightly and began walking in the same direction Sakura had run.

"So, you don't think he's dead either?" Kiba shook his head. "Good, just like us then."

* * *

**Several days later...**

An explosion echoed throughout the halls of Orochimaru's base, rousing the Sannin himself and the three other shinobi in the base, Sasuke, Karin and Naruto. Naruto woke with a start and jumped from his bed. His feet collided with the cold stone floor, and his legs nearly buckled, but he stayed upright and began hobbling out of the room. The redheaded girl he had seen a couple of times appeared from around the corner and tried to force him back into the room.

"You can't be straining yourself! Let Orochimaru-sama deal with the intruders!" She yelled, pushing uselessly against his chest.

"Get out of my way!" Naruto roared, his eyes flashing yellow for a moment, and he threw his arm out, catching Karin in the chest. She was thrown into the left wall, and Naruto began running down the hall, the redhead chasing after him. He came to the end of the hallway, where a large hole had been blown in the ceiling, letting light flow into the tunnel. He could make out four figures, with the shadow of another above them.

"Hey, blondie!" Karin, yelled, jumping onto him just as he escaped into the light. "Wouldn't want you hurting yourself..." She whispered into his ear with a mischievous grin. Shikamaru looked around at Karin's shout, and his eyes widened as he saw the blonde on the ground, groaning due to Karin's tackle, but very much alive.

"Naruto!" He exclaimed in surprise, and the other three members of the team looked round. The shadow above jumped down, revealing itself to belong to Sasuke.

"Dobe? I thought you died." Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto with a fully-developed, three tomoe Sharingan. He drew his Kusanagi from its sheath on the back of his waist and holding it in front of him, ready to defend himself.

"I thought you would've learned by now, teme!" Naruto coughed, his eyes flashing yellow once more, before they became the glaring yellow of the Darkness, and the tentacles sprouted from his back. But this time, they had gained an armour of bones that surrounded their black scales. **"I don't go down so easily!"**

The other four nin simply stared at Naruto incredulously. Shikamaru and the others had seen him die with their very own eyes, but when they had returned, his body had disappeared. And now hear he was, about to battle yet again with Sasuke, his Demon Arms having undergone a strange transformation. Sasuke charged his sword with lightning and jabbed forward swiftly. The sword extended rapidly, rocketing toward Naruto, who simply sidestepped and blurred out of sight.

"Running away, dobe?" Sasuke asked arrogantly, a cocky smirk on his face. But that smirk vanished as he felt Naruto's twisted chakra appear behind him, while a Creeper head reached over his shoulder and hissed in his face. He tried to turn and strike his opponent, but a Demon Arm snaked its way around his waist and lifted him into the air, before slamming him repeatedly into the ground.

"Déjà vu, eh teme?" Naruto asked, throwing Sasuke into the wall by his ankle. "You should've been training, or did you become so complacent while I was gone?" Sasuke pulled himself from the wall and glared at Naruto, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth.

'_The hell? I was training, so how is he that much stronger, even now, when he was dead or whatever for three years?' _Naruto noticed the confused look in Sasuke's eyes and laughed.

"I mean, I've been training this whole time. Though I guess time does pass differently in the Otherworld." He elaborated, flexing his fingers as a sphere of compressed darkness appeared in his palm. He aimed the ball at Sasuke, who was struggling to get up, and tensed his hand. The ball exploded outwards, the beam of pure darkness screaming toward the Uchiha, who attempted to block with his Kusanagi, but it was useless. An enormous explosion rocked the base as the blast ploughed into Sasuke, destroying anything in its path. As the attack ended, the five spectators gasped as they saw that the attack had formed a trench half a kilometre long, with Sasuke somewhere at the end of it. They looked up as they felt another chakra signature appear, to see Orochimaru standing on the edge of the crater, Sasuke's unconscious form, covered in burns, slumped next to him.

"Hmm, I suppose I will just have to retrieve you again later, Naruto-kun. You will come to me eventually, if only to find out more about the _adjustments _I told you about." The Snake Sannin said, before being consumed in an ethereal flame that appeared from thin air, the Uchiha's body disappearing with him.

"That went well." Naruto remarked, looking around at the effects of his attacks o the surrounding landscape. His survey, however, was ended abruptly as he felt a fist collide with the back of his head. "Hey, what the hell was that for?" He spun around, coming face to face with a furious Sakura.

"Dammit, Naruto-no-baka!" She growled, holding her fist before her threateningly. "We would've gotten Sasuke to come back with us if it weren't for you!" Naruto's face twisted into a scowl, and something between a squeal of glee and a low growl echoed from the jaws of the Creepers.

"Do you think we should stop them?" Kiba asked, turning to Shikamaru. Shikamaru scanned the situation carefully for a moment, before shaking his head in the negative.

"No, I think doing that would be stupid. And I mean _really _stupid. You do not want to piss off Naruto when he just woke up." Shikamaru commented. Naruto eyes took on a glaze as he remembered something, before he grinned darkly. He created a kage bunshin, which instantly transformed into a white rabbit. He picked up the rabbit by its ears and held it before her, while simultaneously holding up the other arm in the action of forcing it down something. Sakura's eyes widened as she understood Naruto's actions, and she quickly hid behind Kakashi.

"_If you don't, I got a magic trick for ya. I'm gonna shove my arm down your throat and pull a rabbit out your fuckin' ass." _Those were Naruto's words of warning the day their team had been formed, and for the most part Sakura had obeyed them. Mainly because she believed that Naruto was fucked up enough to actually do it.

"Good girl." Naruto said, before dispelling the kage bunshin. "Now, shall we leave?" Kakashi made to speak, but he was interrupted. "I know that your primary objective was retrieving Sasuke, but that simply isn't possible right now. Orochimaru isn't retarded enough to stay in this base now that you've attacked it. He'll be moving to a different one, though which I don't know."

Kakashi sighed, and turned to leave. "Fine, come on then. I'll have to give my report to Tsunade-sama." He took a step forward, then stopped, remembering something. "What are you gonna do with the girl?"

"Huh?" He looked to his side, to see that Karin was still sitting there, looking up at him in awe. "Oh, I guess I'll take her with me." The redhead jumped to her feet and latched herself onto Naruto, wrapping her arms around one of his. "Somehow, I don't think she minds." Kakashi sighed again.

"Just more paperwork, I suppose."

* * *

**In Konoha, Three Days Later...**

"Welcome back, Naruto." Tsunade said as the team re-entered the village. Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Yeah, sorry I took so long, baa-chan. But at least I'm back!" He exclaimed cheerfully. Tsunade smiled, and was about to speak, until...

An almighty scream of "NARUTO-KUN!" was heard, and Naruto was tackled to the ground by a green and blue blur. Kakashi, Tsunade and Shikamaru smirked as they saw Naruto on the ground, his arms in the tight of grasp of Haku and Dani, while he was being straddled by Neru. "We missed you, Naruto-kun!" They cried into various pieces of his clothing, their tears forming large wet stains.

"Oh, come on. You know I wouldn't go down that easy." Naruto said cockily, before he felt a hand close on his collar and begin dragging him down the street. The combined efforts of the three girls was easily pulling him along, despite his own efforts to escape their grasp.

"**oH, NaRuTo-kuN..." **He heard the distorted growl of the Darkness echo in his mind for the first time since the Valley of the End three years ago. **"iT's bEeN sO loNg sInCe I'vE bEen able tO sPeaK tO yOu lIkE tHiS."**

'_What do you want? And why weren't you able to speak to me?' _Naruto replied mentally. His only response was a throaty chuckle that sent a unnerved shiver down his spine.

"**WhAt i wAnT iS sImpLe. I jUsT WaNt tO iNfoRM yOu tHAt iF yOu'rE tHiNkiNg oF eNgaGinG iN... cErTain aCtS wIth these gIrlS, I wOuLd advIsE yOu tO wAiT."**

'_W-What? What for?'_

"**leT'S pUt iT tHiS wAy. iF yOu fUcK these giRlS, yoU diE. It'S A lItTlE fLaW wItH mY PoWeR. i'M wOrKinG a WaY aRoUnD iT wItH kYuUbI, bUt iT mAy TaKe A wHilE."**

'_Then how did my old man get around it?'_

"**DiDn'T i tElL yOu aLrEadY? hE dIdn'T hAVe my PoWeR."**

'_So, what you're saying is, I can't have sex for fear of my own life?' _Naruto asked, and a laugh confirmed his fears. _'Fuck, how am I supposed to tell them that?'_

"**I tOlD yOu, iF YoU cAn hold ouT lOng eNOugH, yOU woN'T hAvE tO." **The Darkness assured him, before going silent. By this time, he had been dragged all the way back to his apartment and thrown unceremoniously onto his couch, where Neru jumped onto him again and Haku and Dani appeared at either side.

"Where did you go, Naruto-kun? We've been waiting _so _long for you." Haku moaned, pulling down the zipper of his shirt. As the metal tag reached the bottom, she grinned and ripped the shirt off, throwing it aside.

"Mhm, Naruto-sama. It's been so _boring _without you here..." Dani purred, running her nails over his chest, causing Naruto to blush lightly. Neru forewent any form of teasing and leant over so her face was a few inches from his and grinned, before crashing her lips into his. Naruto's blush deepened but he returned the kiss as jealous expressions appeared on the faces of Haku and Dani. Within moments, their envious looks became more mischievous as they smirked at each other, before their hands reached down toward his waist...

"AHEM!" They heard someone yell, and all four looked up, though rather reluctantly. There, stood in the doorway with a deep blush on her face, was Karin, her arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Is that how people act here in Konoha? I mean, not that I mind, but seriously, couldn't you have at least closed the door?"

"Who are you and what do you want?" Neru asked, glaring at the redhead that had intruded upon her reserved 'Naruto time'. "If ya hadn't noticed, we're kinda in the middle of something here, so unless you wanna join, I suggest you get lost." All four others' blushes deepened considerably at Neru's flippant approach, but the three girls continued glaring at Karin nonetheless.

"Uhm, not that I don't want to, but the big-breasted lady wanted Naruto back for a little while. She needs to debrief him, or something like that." Karin informed the four, looking anywhere but the scene on the couch. Haku and Dani groaned and pulled themselves off him, but Neru wasn't budging. No matter what they tried, she wouldn't let go.

"Hell no!" She yelled, clutching so tight they could've sworn they heard several of Naruto's ribs crack. "I've waited three fuckin' years for this! There's no way I'm letting old cowtits steal my time!" Everyone sweat-dropped, before sighing and backing off. Naruto awkwardly pulled on his shirt, somehow getting it on without Neru letting go at any point, and shifted her slightly so that she was hanging onto his back.

"Now, I'll go to see baa-chan, but then I need to speak to you. So don't jump me, okay Neru?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at the mischievous grin the dark-haired girl was sporting.

"No promises." She whispered into his ear, forcing the reappearance of his blush.

* * *

**In the Hokage Tower...**

"So let me get this straight." Tsunade said, a tick forming on her forehead. "Sasuke killed you at the Valley of the End, but it doesn't matter because you've died before. Then you wake up three years later, coughing up blood in Orochimaru's base, while the bastard tells you that he's done something to your body. Then, a few days later, these guys show up," She pointed to Kakashi, Sakura, Shikamaru and Kiba, "and make Sasuke blow a hole in said base, which wakes you up again, you rush down the hallway with the redhead chasing you, kick Sasuke's ass, find bones covering those tentacles you have, and come back to Konoha?"

"Uhm, yep, that's pretty much it. It doesn't sound like I left anything out." Naruto replied, putting a hand to his head in thought while Neru still clung to his back. Tsunade sighed and pulled a bottle of sake out of her desk drawer before taking a large swig.

"Should I be surprised by anything you do anymore?"

"Probably not. You'd die from the shock, your old heart just wouldn't be able to take it."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Tsunade asked angrily, the tick increasing in size.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. So, did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Oh, not much. Just the fact that pretty much all of your age group is now Chuunin or higher, leaving you as a Genin by yourself." Naruto grew his own tick at that.

"Normally I'd be okay with that, I'd say something like 'So what if I'm a genin, I'm the strongest genin in the world. Ranks don't matter,' or some shit like that. But now, I'm pissed off. Mainly because DOGBOY OVER HERE," He pointed at Kiba, "IS A CHUUNIN BUT I'M NOT! I MEAN, LOOK AT HIM!" Kiba whimpered slightly and cowered from Naruto's wrath. "C'MON, IF I'M NOT CAREFUL HE'LL PISS HIMSELF FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!"

"That's just how it is. If you want Chuunin, you pass the exam."

"But can't you give me a field promotion? That would be so much easier." Tsunade took on a grin that unnerved Naruto slightly.

"But that would take all the fun out of the chance that you might get hurt in the exams. Plus, this way I can find out what you know after the three years you were away." Naruto shivered for some unknown reason, before he realised something.

"Wait, you said Chuunin or higher. So who's a Jounin?" Naruto asked, still slightly annoyed that others from his age group were higher ranks than he.

"Since you died, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Neji, Romano Neru and Momochi Haku have all been advanced to Jounin. They have all exhibited strange abilities, cause unknown." Naruto's mouth dropped open, and he turned to Haku and Shikamaru.

"Wait, you guys were jounin and you didn't tell me?" Shikamaru scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile, while Haku looked away with a blush.

"Well, I guess it slipped my mind." Shikamaru told him.

"Uhm... we were kind of busy... plus I was planning to use my mouth for other-" Haku began, but she was silenced when Dani, a monstrous blush spread across her face, clamped a hand over the Hyouton-user's mouth.

"Whoa there, don't go saying things like that in conversation!"

"And how about you?" Naruto asked, turning his head to look at Neru over his shoulder. He was given no response as he noticed that Neru had fallen asleep, her head rested on his shoulder. "Well, okay. That's a good enough excuse. Is there anything else, baa-chan?"

"Nope. You're free to go. I'll put you in for the next Chuunin Exams." She said as Naruto walked out of the room with Neru on his back. Once out of the Hokage Tower, he slipped into a back alley.

"Okay, you can stop pretending now." He said, a smirk growing as he felt movement on his back.

"Who's pretending? You're comfy." Neru said, stretching. "So, you wanted to say something?"

"Yeah, you might want to get off for this. It's pretty big." Naruto said, and the dark-haired girl jumped off of his back. He turned and put his mouth to her ear, before whispering a few words. Neru's eyes widened considerably, and her fists clenched in anger.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

* * *

Hey, guys, I'm back! Hope you didn't miss me too much... okay, scratch that, I hope you did miss me, 'cause that means you actually care about the story. Well, this is the beginning of the sequel to Naruto Estacado, and I seriously hope you liked it, or I've done all this for nothing. Naruto's back, he's better, he's badder, he's... celibate? Yeah, Naruto can't have sex for now. At least until Kyuubi and the Darkness can fix it. And everyone in the SRS and his two shinobi girlfriends are all jounin, leaving him to take the Chuunin Exams soon. and then there's the new introduction for the harem, Karin, and the others soon to come. That's basically all I have to say, so goodnight!

**Next Time, on From The Shadows I Rise...  
**Naruto's back in Konoha, and already he's pissed off his girlfriend. And then there's the Chuunin Exams he has to attend. And the news of his friends' promotion. And everything else. So basically, everything's bad. But at least he's got badass supernatural powers. What'll happen between Naruto and his girls? Will the events of the last Exams repeat themselves? When will Sasuke stop being a dick and go back to Konoha? And how the fuck did a pussy like Kiba make Chuunin? Find out next time, on From The Shadows I Rise! (Rolls credits with Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson)


	2. Chapter 2: Lust And Envy

Sorry for the unexpected wait, I had a sudden influx of new ideas for various stories, ranging from Naruto to RvB and everything in between. But here it is, the second chapter of FSIR, in which preparations for the chuunin exams are made, Naruto learns of what has become of the SRS, and Neru freaks out. Big Time. Anyway, without further adieu, let's get rockin'!

**Chapter 2, Lust And Envy**

"What the hell do you mean, you can't have sex? That ruins my plans for the next week!" Neru complained, causing Naruto to sweatdrop.

"You planned to have sex for a week?" He asked, but already was dreading the answer.

"But of course! You've been gone for three fucking years, so I'll take what I can get!" She replied, crossing her arms over her chest. A bored expression appeared on her face before she spoke again. "And you've kept the other two waiting, so I had to give them time with you as well, I suppose..."

"Riiiiight... Well, as I tried to tell you before you screamed in my ear, according to Darky in here," Naruto tapped his temple lightly with his index and middle fingers, "It's only temporary. They're working to fix it, but it'll take some time."

Neru sighed, before a evil gleam surfaced in her eyes and her mouth twisted into a dark smirk. "Well, I guess that's out of the question, but there's so much more we can do, Naruto-kun!" She cried, leaping at the blonde and throwing her arms out, ready to wrap them around him. A look of terror formed on Naruto's face, and he quickly disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Neru to crash into the opposite wall. "Kami dammit! I thought I had him this time!"

Naruto, meanwhile, had reappeared outside his favourite place in all of Konoha: Ichiraku's. He walked inside, pushing the small cloths hanging over the entrance aside before taking a seat at the counter. He grinned as Ayame, the girl he had long thought of as a sister, appeared from the depths of the restaurant, notepad in hand.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's! May I take your order?" She asked cheerfully, and Naruto's grin widened. She obviously didn't recognise him, no that he could blame her. He'd almost forgotten about this place after the night he gained his powers, having not returned now.

"Yeah, can I get four bowls of miso ramen and four of beef ramen, with extra beef?" He replied, causing Ayame to look at him oddly.

"Sir, are you sure? That's an awful lot of ramen for one person. Hell, it's a lot for two people." Naruto's eyes narrowed, but his grin remained, leaving an expression many would call creepy.

"Obviously you don't know just who I am." He said quietly, confusing Ayame. She gave him another odd look, before walking off into the depths of the restaurant.

"Ohayo, Naruto. Where'd you go after the meeting, ne?" A bored voice asked as Shikamaru walked into the ramen stand, taking a seat next to Naruto. A rather bulky figure walked behind him, wearing a set of gunmetal grey armour over a red outfit, with spiky brown hair reaching down his back. A pair of black gloves adorned his rather large hands, with a curious horizontal zip on the palm. "As I was sayin' to Chouji here, Neru is gonna kill you, I swear."

"Chouji?" Naruto asked, looking up at the larger boy as recognition dawned on his face. "Long time no see!"

"Likewise." Chouji said simply, before pulling out a bar of chocolate and munching on it.

"Aside from that, we, meaning me, Chouji, Shino, Neji, Neru and Haku, have a few things to show you. A lot has changed since you've been away, Naruto." Shikamaru spoke, though he was interrupted before he could say anything else by the sound of smashing bowls. It appeared that Ayame had heard him. A brown and white blur shot out from the kitchen and crashed into Naruto, knocking him from his seat and out into the street. The blonde skidded to a halt and looked down to see the ramen stand's sole waitress crying into his shirt.

"People said you were dead, Naruto-kun! You didn't come back, I was so worried about you!" She mumbled as she wiped her tears on his clothes. Naruto lightly flicked her head, causing her to look up as he grinned brightly.

"C'mon Ayame-neechan, you should know that it'll take more than some Uchiha prick to do me in!" He boasted, causing the teary-eyed girl to let out a laugh, before hugging the younger blonde tightly. He looked up at Shikamaru and Chouji with an expression that screamed 'help me', much to the amusement of Teuchi as he emerged from the ramen stand.

"Guess you've been having quite the adventure since you've been gone, eh Naruto?" He asked, chuckling softly. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly as Ayame detached herself from him and pulled him up, smiling all the while.

"I suppose you could say that. Not all of it's been good, but it's never boring, that's for sure." At that, Shikamaru seemed to remember something, and nudged Naruto softly with his elbow.

"Naruto, in case you forgot, we still have to go. We've got things to show you, and Tsunade-sama issued us a mission after you left."

"'Us'?" Naruto asked, confused. The way Shikamaru had said that did not give Naruto the idea that it was a joint mission between the remaining members of Team Seven and the former members of Team Ten.

"Just another thing to tell you about. Grab your ramen and let's get going." Shikamaru almost ordered him, pointing over to where Teuchi was already holding up a bag full of take-out ramen bowls. Naruto walked over and took them, but was quickly pulled into another hug from Ayame.

"You'd better come back later and tell us all about what's happened." She said quietly as she clung onto him. He stepped back and gave a huge grin and a nod, before disappearing without a trace, along with Shikamaru and Chouji.

* * *

**Tsuchikage's Office, Iwagakure...**

The Sandaime Tsuchikage, a man known as Oonoki of Both Scales, was beyond pissed. To be honest, that wasn't saying much, as he had been pissed for the best part of three years. His anger had begun when he had heard that the Yondaime Hokage, renowned across the Elemental Countries as the legendary Yellow Flash, had a son. His rage had grown when he had learned of the boy's death at the hands of another great enemy of his village, the fabled Uchiha. Their Sharingan techniques had caused a great deal of damage to Iwa during the Third Great Shinobi War, even though it still did not equal that caused by the Yondaime. But the knowledge of who killed the progeny of his 'nemesis' did next to nothing in regards to his emotions. No, it was the fact that he could not kill the boy himself, as he had been dreaming of since he had heard of his existence. A knock at his office door broke him from his thoughts, and he gave a low grunt to signal acceptance of this visitor. It was a generic ninja of Rock, with a stack of papers in his arms.

"Tsuchikage-sama, our scouts have relayed some rather interesting news. I believe it will intrigue you greatly." The shinobi spoke. Though instead of reading out the news like one would expect, he began babbling on about how interesting the information was. Oonoki made a mental note to fire this one at the next possible opportunity, he was just far too annoying to keep around.

"Well, get on with it then! Tell me what is so important!" He interrupted in an irate roar that shook the entire tower slightly. The ninja looked surprised for a moment, but quickly shook it off and pulled a manila folder from his stack. He slid the folder across the desk for the Tsuchikage to open. The balding Kage raised an eyebrow momentarily, before a smirk spread across his wrinkled face.

"Well, this _is _good news..." He commented, looking down at the photo of a blonde teenager entering the village of Konoha with a group of five other ninja, one of which he recognised as Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja. The teen was grinning and joking with another teen with black hair in a pineapple-like ponytail, while a bespectacled redhead hung off his arm. His grin showed off the trio of whisker-like marks on each cheek quite well, in his opinion. "It seems the Yellow Flash's legacy has returned from death..."

* * *

**Training Ground 27...**

"So, this is what you wanted to show me?" Naruto asked slowly, staring wide-eyed at his transformed friends. Shikamaru's skin had paled considerably, and his nails had lengthened into claws and his canines into fangs, but the greatest change had been the complete and utter darkening of his eyes, iris, sclera and all. Chouji had opened the zips on his gloves, revealing a pair of mouths that were slowly licking their lips, their teeth looking so long and sharp that they shouldn't have physically been able to fit.

Neji, now wearing a set of pale robes seen on most Hyuuga, had rolled up his sleeves, revealing a set of tattoos resembling chains coiling around his forearms. They glowed an electric blue for a moment, before a pair of enormous shields appeared, tied to his forearms with chains. Sparks of lightning danced across the chariot emblem craved into their surfaces, while the sunlight reflected off of their bladed edges.

Shino wore a large black cloak wrapped around his body that served to obscure his identity further than his previous outfit had done. The cloak also seemed to absorb all light around it, strangely. The Aburame had simply pulled a skull-topped staff from the depths of his cloak, revealing a glimpse of a necklace of skulls. The staff's eyes glowed red for a moment, before settling.

Haku had appeared in what appeared to simply be a larger version of her original outfit. She pulled a silver mirror from her battle kimono as her eyes and hair turned a pure white that almost blinded Naruto. Ice had spread across the ground where her feet had touched, though only for a few inches.

Neru was also wearing a large version of her original clothes, to accommodate for her more... developed figure, not that it wasn't well-developed for a girl her age to begin with. She had pulled out what seemed to be a small wand topped with a heart, which glowed with a soft pink light while she breathed out a small amount of pink mist.

"Pretty much." Shikamaru confirmed, his features returning to normal along with the others'. "I guessed it was something to do with your _special abilities_, so I didn't really think much of it. It's better to just chalk it up as one of the many weird things that happened around you."

"Oh, ha-ha." Naruto said sarcastically, a mock scowl on his face. "So, do I get more special powers, or is it just you?"

"Don't you have enough power already?" Chouji asked, digging his hand into a bag of chips, though he wasn't pulling his hand out to shovel the potato product into his primary mouth.

"I don't care about the power to be honest, I just think it's fucking awesome to get a huge powerup just after getting your ass kicked, and then suddenly start messing the other guy up Super-Naruto-style." Naruto informed the larger nin, giving him a grin. The six shinobi sweat-dropped heavily, before laughing with the blonde.

* * *

"Priestess-sama, a request has been sent to Konohagakure for a group of shinobi to be sent to escort you to the shrine." A masked guard informed the veiled young woman before him, kneeling. The girl gave an almost invisible nod, giving the guard the indication to leave. She removed the veil as the door slid shut, revealing her shimmering purple eyes and long blonde hair. She looked down at her hands, which, despite being clasped in her lap, were shaking like mad.

"My vision must not come true... at any cost..."

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama, what are you going to do about the upcoming chuunin exams in Konoha?" A nameless Sound-nin asked his leader in one of his many underground bases. The Hebi Sannin chuckled darkly and gave his subordinate an evil smirk, resting his head in his hand.

"Do? Why, whatever do you mean, my dear boy?" The pale nuke-nin asked, turning away to look off into the shadows of his throne room. "It would be disadvantageous to do anything about this year's exams. After the invasion three years ago, they will be expecting something to happen. Besides, with both Jiraiya and Tsunade within the village, along with the Kyuubi vessel, and my rapidly weakening body, I would stand no chance. No, we will do nothing. That is not to say nothing will happen, but we shall see." He stared into one particular shadow in the corner and smirked. "Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?"

His only reply was the menacing glow of a pair of red eyes flashing in the darkness.

* * *

**How'd ya like that one? I'm not too happy with this chapter, I just feel it's not one of my best. Hopefully the next will be better, as it will be the beginning of a new arc, with at least one battle in. I kinda wanna get through to the chuunin exams, then quickly through to the Zombie Duo Arc, 'cause I have plans for those two that'll give at least one of them a much bigger part in the storyline. Anyway, on to the reviews.**

**Shihouin Shunshin: I had not meant for it to be interpreted that way. I have no plans for that to happen any time in the foreseeable future. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.**

**Highvalour: The gender of the child is irrelevant. The Darkness kills its host if it sires a child, period. The only reason he was able to have his daughter (named Hope... hm, may have to use her at some point) with Sara Pezzini was because the Darkness took over Jackie's body and practically raped her unconscious body in the hospital, so there would be a child born of the Darkness and the Balance, therefore tipping the scales in its favour. **

**Next Time, on FSIR:**

**Naruto's friends' transformations have been revealed, and already they're being sent on a mission, to Oni no Kuni (Demon Country). But there are dark powers at work, and they are wrapped in a sacred journey to stop the return of an incredibly powerful demon. On top of that, several powerful members of society in the shinobi nations are plotting against the leaf. Just how will Naruto and his friends deal with this? What will the Tsuchikage do to kill Naruto? Just how many more girls will Naruto capture the hearts of? Find out next time! Goodnight! (Rolls credits, with Sad But True by Metallica in the background)**


	3. Chapter 3: No Rest For The Wicked

I'm back! Man, it's good to be home! Sorry it's taken so long to get to this point, around six months since the last update, but I should be getting back into the swing of things with the reboot of my computer, which I should be able to use a lot more over the summer holidays. Besides that, I have tons of new ideas for existing stories and new fics, which you may see in the near future. By the way, if you are a Blood Breathers fan, or know one, then rejoice! Work on the new chapter is under way and should hopefully be given unto you sometime soon. The hiatus is not indefinite, people! Without further ado, I give you chapter three!

**Chapter 3, No Rest For The Wicked**

A quintet of cloaked figures stood atop one of the many stone cliffs that dotted Oni no Kuni's landscape, overlooking what appeared to be a temple of some kind. Four of them could be no older than teens, each dressed in white garments similar to medical gowns with small variations between them. The fifth was older, a middle-aged man with long, dark hair and a scruffy goatee, garbed in a dark brown trench coat with a lighter shirt underneath and dark pants, his feet covered by small cloth shoes.

"This is the hour..." the older man muttered, speaking mostly to himself though his subordinates listened intently to every word he spoke. "The night for which our dark medical ninjutsu was crafted. Mouryou shall be awakened tonight, and return this world to order." He blurred out of sight for an instant, reappearing behind the group of four, his arms outstretched. "Time for your prescription! **Chakra Infusion!" **Four black tendrils burst from the ground beneath their feet and sliced through the air like knives, embedding their sharpened tips into the necks of each of the four teens. The snake-like growths began to glow with a menacing purple chakra, but the four stood still as statues, as if such an act was commonplace. Within a few moments, the glow receded and the tentacles retracted from their skin, disappearing once again into the earth. "Prescription complete," the man spoke finally, and the four leapt from their places off of the cliff and to the temple below. Their sandalled feet met the sheer cliff face and adhered to it with a faint glow of chakra, allowing the four to run down at incredible speeds. Then, with several yards of the cliff left till the bottom, they leapt, landing silently on flat horizontal ground.

The place was silent. The small patch of earth that lead up to the temple steps was lit only by the pale moonlight and the blazing fires that stood either side of the doors. Dark robed monks stood as guards beside these flames, but they were obviously asleep. Their assessment complete, the four raced forward, their sandals forming a slight patting sound on the dirt, but loud enough to rouse the guards, who took up their swords in defence of the temple.

"Intruders!" One cried, and the doors were thrown open as two more monks entered the fray, swords drawn. The quartet of monks rushed out to meet the attackers, bellowing furious war-cries as they held their swords high above their heads in gestures meant more to intimidate than to bestow any kind of fighting prowess. They swung their blades clumsily, only to have them cut thin air as the four shinobi leapt into the air, turning to face the sentinels with confident smirks.

"You wanna fight, huh?" The lone female, a boyish girl with short orange hair, cried as she twirled gracefully through the air. She was followed into the sky by another of their team, a boy with long pink that fell over and obscured his right eye.

"Gitai, Setsuna!" He cried in a deep masculine voice that seemed out of place among his feminine appearance. The monks gasped and looked behind them, to find one of the cloaked ninja standing there silently. This one had long white hair, and much of his face was covered by a white veil similar to a surgical mask, and long flowing white robes that covered his entire body from view.

"**Katon Ninpou:Hibashiri!" **He spoke quietly, as flames rose from the ground around him in a perfect circle, then sped toward the monks and encircled them in a prison of fire. The monks trapped within the flames stood back to back, holding their swords before them in a defensive stance as the fourth shinobi leapt through the air above them.

"**Fuuton Ninpou: Kamikaze!" **The final ninja, a male with long, straight blue hair, cried as he threw his arms out in front of him. A great gust of wind picked up and augmented the flames, turning a wide circle of fire into a blazing inferno in the form of a burning tornado that raged in place, destroying any trace of the four monks and burning the ground beneath it until Gitai, the masked shinobi, made a gesture and the tower of fire exploded, carving a great hole into the earth and showering the temple with debris. Black smoke billowed into the air as the middle-aged appeared before the temple and led his subordinates to its door, where Gitai and Setsuna pushed open the great stone barrier and opened the way into the darkened hall, lit only by small flames that hung on the walls.

"Wait for me here," He ordered. "The gates of the underworld lie just up ahead, and only I who bear the name of Yomi may proceed." Without another word, Yomi continued onward into the temple's depths, leaving the gang of four at the door as he descended into an even darker lower chamber. A great altar stood in the centre of the room, lit by some unnatural means and adorned with a large boulder, wrapped in seal tags. The only path to the altar was a narrow stone pathway; everywhere else there was nothing but a dark abyss that promised death to any who entered. Ropes passed between the walls, numerous seal tags hanging off each, as if to ward off any evil who might try to enter. Or, Yomi thought with a small smirk, to keep some great evil locked within. He traversed the narrow bridge and entered the pale blue light that fell over the sealed stone, the white markings that covered the floor responding to his entrance with a low hum. His arm raised awkwardly and pointed, palm outstretched, at the sealed door that stood in the shadow of the boulder, his fingers lighting with dark chakra. He began to chant darkly, using the names of the hand seals rather than performing them physically, the dark chakra growing with each passing moment.

"Min, Shin, Gan, Reppyo, Shouzen, Mika, Dan, Raku, Shou." A shockwave of dark chakra erupted from his palm and collided with the door, the many seal tags burning up in an instant with an intense purple flame. The stone door behind them groaned and deep cracks ran across its surface, before it exploded outwards, tendrils of dark energy following it out into the open air. The force pushed Yomi back a few feet before he managed to regain his footing and stand strong against the wave of pure, unbridled malevolence that had been kept prisoner for so long.

"**Ah..." **A voice that sounded far from human groaned in relief as its prison was thrown open, the torrent of darkness slowing considerably but still flowing from the opening with sizeable force. From the gaping maw that lay between the broken stone doors stepped what appeared to be an elderly man, a crisp white suit with a red tie and pocket square covering his obviously muscular form. His skin was ghostly pale to such a degree that it seemed to be a dull grey, a colour that continued in the beard that grew downward from his chin. He opened his eyes, revealing no iris or pupil, only a blinding white, and took a deep breath through his nose. **"Wonderful... I'd been cooped up for so long I almost forgot what the outside smelt like."**

"You are not Mouryou," Yomi stated the obvious, glaring at the man who turned his attention to the dark-haired man. The man chuckled darkly, a sound which made Yomi's blood run cold, and he shivered despite the warmth of summer. Every time this man, or whatever he was, opened his mouth, it was like darkness spilled from his lips and polluted the air around him. Every word he spoke, even the cold laughter that showed his amusement at the younger man's confusion, told Yomi to run. Fast.

"**Mouryou? That old wives' tale?" **The man laughed again, before levelling his unflinching gaze on Yomi, who began to shiver. The pure white eyes bore holes into him like no other man's stare had ever before. **"I'm insulted. To have someone believe that my power could ever be compared to that myth. No, I'm much worse than he could ever be, trust me. Or rather, don't." **He stretched out an arm, the bones emitting sickening pops as they moved into place, and pulled it back to his side. **"Now, _kneel."_ **The force that Yomi had only barely been holding back until now crashed down upon his shoulders with unbelievable pressure and quickly forced him to his kneels, sweat dripping from his brow as a sign of his futile attempt to fight the man's control.

"W-Who... are you?" He managed to croak out as he forced his lips to move against the pressure. He hissed quietly as his head was wrenched upwards painfully to meet the elderly man's sinister smile, an expression he had only seen once in his lifetime; during a chance meeting with the traitorous Hebi Sannin, Orochimaru.

"**I'm afraid I happen to have forgotten my _true _name, but for now, you may call me the Sovereign. You won't be here much longer anyway." **The man raised a wrinkled hand and gripped Yomi's head, squeezing slightly so as to give the man more pain as he lifted him from his feet and swung him in the air like a ragdoll. "**I have already sensed the powers of your subordinates and have determined that they may be of some use to me, and shall therefore be spared. You are not so fortunate." **His fingers clenched, and Yomi's head was crushed in an impressive shower of gore that sprayed over the altar and stained the Sovereign's clean white suit with bloody red blotches that served only to make his already imposing form even more intimidating that had otherwise been. He ascended the steps into the temple's main chamber, where the gang of four still remained, and they leapt into battle stances as they saw the man approach. He delighted in the shock and fear that painted their faces as they sighted their master's blood on the otherwise pristine suit, and smiled as they decided to confront him nonetheless.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" **Gitai roared, and several small but powerful fireballs spewed from beneath his veil, hurtling toward the Sovereign. He simply raised his hand, and a wave of what appeared to be black wind extinguished the fire so easily it was almost laughable. Gitai's crimson eyes grew wide and he stepped back in fear, as did the others.

"**Now, now. Is that any way to greet your new master? Especially with the lucrative compensation I offer, as an apology for your having to serve under such an incompetent fool as this one." **The Sovereign gestured towards the bloodstains on his suit. **"Now, why don't we sit and talk about this, like civilised human beings?"**

* * *

**Meanwhile, in Batto no Kuni...**

Batto no Kuni, otherwise known as Bat Country, was considered one of the most inhospitable territories in the Elemental Countries, and not without good reason. Its lands were covered with dark, foreboding forests with terrifying legends surrounding them. Few villages lay scattered across the country, but contact with each had been lost decades ago, and attempts at communication with them had been met with silence. And then there were the rumours of dark creatures living within the forests, the same that many a story had been told about in bars and taverns across the world, and the same that had allegedly reduced the country's once proud shinobi village to a desolate ghost town. No clue could be found as to the fate of its residents, or those of the smaller villages that had met the same end. And so, Bat Country became a forbidden land, only talked about in campfire ghost stories.

Yet despite its dark reputation, it was practically the centrepoint for the entire shinobi world, lying almost directly between the five great shinobi nations and surrounded by other, smaller countries that also held respectable shinobi villages. Many a ninja mission took a man or woman through its borders, despite their complaints. Hence why four of our heroes, namely Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru and Haku, found themselves stopping for rest within a small clearing, to which our favourite blonde had several issues.

"We can't stop here, this is Bat Country!" He exclaimed loudly, causing several large black birds that had been nesting in the canopy above to retreat, cawing loudly. Their caterwaul roused several other nests of large, loud birds, and quickly the four Konoha shinobi couldn't hear themselves speak over the cacophony of wailing birds. When the birds had passed and silenced reigned once more in the dark clearing, Neji sighed.

"I realise where we are, Naruto-sama, but our mission demands we take this route. We have a specific deadline, and taking a longer route around Batto no Kuni would take far too long. Therefore, the only logical solution would be to cut straight through. Besides, without the risk of confronting enemy shinobi within the borders, our travel time would be drastically reduced."

"Sure, we won't have to fight any bad _living _guys. But what about the guys who aren't so... lively?" Naruto asked almost fearfully, searching their surroundings for movement. Neji sighed again. While he respected Naruto far more than anyone, even Hiashi, the blonde 'leader' of their little gang could be oh so thick at times. He had been through this conversation numerous times since Naruto had heard that they would be passing through this way. It was common knowledge in Konoha that despite his considerable experience with the paranormal, the blonde Estacado was scared shitless when it came to ghosts. Neji reasoned that it was because he couldn't kill them. Naruto's pastime had become killing things, so when faced with something that was already dead, how was he supposed to react with it? _Reason _with it? He chuckled inwardly at the thought of the tactless blonde trying to negotiate with a spectre.

"Don't be such a worrywort, Naruto-sama. I've already checked the area with my Byakugan, and it's completely clear besides a few birds and the occasional wolf. Nothing that any of us can't handle. Don't you agree, Shikamaru?" He turned to his fellow jounin, only to be met with silence as the lazy Nara had already fallen fast asleep against one of the thick tree trunks that encased their camp. He turned his pale gaze to Haku, who sat silently a few feet to his left. She held her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs, as if trying to stave off some nonexistent cold, but her expression didn't match. She was staring blankly into space, a serene smile gracing her lips as she sighed happily. He began to wonder just what she was thinking about, but, after having known her for three years and understanding just how deep her love for Naruto ran, he was positive he didn't want to know. He had enough mental scarring as it was. He turned back to Naruto, who was still scanning the darkness with narrowed eyes. "Naruto-sama, I hate to have to do this, but don't make me pull rank on you. Calm down and try to get some sleep. We'll leave when the sun comes up, if it makes you feel any better."

"Fine..." Naruto grumbled, and dropped to the floor, glaring at the shadows beyond the fire's reach. He had every intention of staying awake all night to watch the trees for any signs of ghosts or ghouls, but his body betrayed him. His mouth opened wide in a yawn. Ever since he had returned from Orochimaru's clutches, he had felt constantly fatigued, and he seemed to be getting sicker with each passing day. Just what had that strange, snake-obsessed man done to him in the three years he had been incapacitated? He shuddered at the thought. After a long and hardy battle with himself, Naruto lay himself out on his roll-out mattress and closed his eyes, falling into deep slumber. No sooner was he asleep than Haku broke free from her reverie and looked around the now silent clearing, confused, before settling on crawling over to Naruto's slumbering form and curling up beside him, pressing her head into his chest. She felt almost glad that Neru wasn't here, for once.

Unbeknownst to her, as she had already closed her eyes, as soon as this final thought crossed her mind, her body glowed with a pale blue light, which faded just as quickly as it had appeared. Beneath her heavy robes, black markings began to form over the pale skin of her back, twisting into the shape of an ornate hand mirror, albeit broken, with black vines erupting from its shattered surface and wrapping around her midsection, tying in a knot over her navel.

* * *

**The Next Morning...**

Neji awoke first, as usual. He had always been a light sleeper, and wasn't about to change just because of Naruto's request to wait till the sun was bright. He checked his equipment, performed general maintenance on any weapons or gear that required it, and then, stepping silently around his sleeping teammates, did the same with their equipment. If he didn't, it was very unlikely that they ever would. His work done, Neji sat back down, his back pressed against a tree trunk much like the way Shikamaru had fallen asleep the night before, rolled up his sleeves, and began to lightly trace over the chain tattoos that had remained burned into his forearms since his battle with Sakon three years prior. Ever since that day, an almost unbearable itch had grown upon his skin, centring around these tattoos, and at times had become painful, even. As if something was trapped within them, and was trying to claw its way out through his skin. He had discovered a sort of routine for these annoyances, however; it seemed that the itch lessened after battle, when he released the bladed shields to wage war against any who would stand in his way. His eyes moved to the snoring Naruto, and rolled upwards. As always, Neji would chalk this up to be one of the many odd occurrences that seemed to spring up when one was acquainted with him.

The sun, which only know to show its radiant presence, threw a single dust-laden bar through the thick canopy above and shed a little light on the otherwise darkened clearing. Like clockwork the others began to stir; Naruto and Shikamaru shifted awkwardly, yawning loudly and stretching their arms out. Haku, on the other hand, groaned and tried to retreat into Naruto's chest in a fruitless attempt at returning to her pleasant dreams, but sadly the moment was gone. The beautiful castle of ice that would only appear in fairy tales had vanished, to be replaced by a horrible trek through the dark forest of many people's nightmares.

"Good morning," Neji greeted with a peaceful smile, only to be met with the disgruntled scowls from the three. The Hyuuga jounin pulled himself to his feet and allowed his sleeves to fall loosely back over the chain tattoos as he pulled his drawstring bag over his shoulder and prepared to leave. "Ready to go?"

"How can anyone manage to be so awake so early?" Naruto asked, not truly expecting an answer. Fortunately, because he wasn't given one. He stood and began to pack away his supplies while Haku and Shikamaru did the same. Then, a deep growl was heard, one that didn't frighten Naruto as much as the ones last night had. "Aren't we gonna have breakfast?"

"No time. Already we've wasted time waiting till sunrise to leave, but if we tarry any longer our charge could be dead already. If you're that hungry, I have ration pills that you can..." Neji trailed off into silence seeing the disgusted look on Naruto's face.

"Nah, none of that crap. You and I both know that stuff ain't real food." Naruto sighed and slowly began to walk up a tree to a high branch. "Guess I'll wait till we arrive. Better be damn worth it, I tell ya." Naruto's muttered complaints were silenced by the rush of wind as he took off into the trees, with his team following close behind. Under any other circumstances, he would have relished the feeling of being once again on active duty, working out the cramps that had formed during his three-year stasis. Sure, his soul had a lot of exercise - fighting maggot-ridden zombie-soldiers for one thousand and ninety-five days straight does that to you – but his physical body wasn't so lucky. But the wonder of the moment was marred somewhat by the ache in his gut, both of hunger and... something else. Yellow flashed in the corner of his eye, and he slowed to a halt, searching the darkness.

"Something wrong?" Shikamaru asked, covering yet another yawn with his hand. "You see another ghost?"

"This isn't funny, wise-ass. I actually saw something out there! It was yellow and shiny, kinda like the eyes of... the Darkness..." Realisation dawned upon him, and he leapt down from the trees to land behind a row of thick green bushes. Looking to any outsider like a spy with a serious wardrobe malfunction, he peered through the bushes, parting the leaves with his hands. The space on the other side was just that, empty space, but that wasn't enough to satisfy his curiosity. He vaulted over the bush and landed almost silently the other side, inspecting the ground. Several small, reptilian footprints littered the dirt, and by the looks of their depth, were carrying something heavy. But it was what lay beside them that caught his attention; numerous empty 7.62mm cartridges scattered over the dirt. Whatever he had seen in the shadows had a very big gun (bow chicka bow wow).

"Did'ya find something?" Haku asked almost excitedly, dropping down beside Naruto, their male companions landing behind them. Naruto didn't answer. The prospect of someone using bullets almost frightened him. He had seen their destructive power first hand, used it himself even, and knew that shinobi wouldn't stand a chance in the face of the horror that was mechanised warfare. Steel kunai powered by human arms were no match for red-hot lead pellets powered by miniature explosions. But his thoughts were cut short as more of the lead projectiles buried themselves into a tree just inches above their heads, the sound of hundreds gunshots accompanied by a high-pitched maniacal cackled.

"**Death to the Commies!" **The voice screeched as its owner leapt through the bushes with surprising agility for one wearing full combat gear and carrying a loaded minigun. Despite the emptiness of its glowing yellow eyes, there was no mistaking the dark glee it felt for their impending deaths, like some sort of drug. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as the Darkness began to manifest of its own accord, complete with its new bony armour. There was no mistaking it; this small creature, no higher than his waist, was a Darkling. A Darkling that was hell-bent on his destruction, no less, rather than the thousands that resided on the other side of his summoning contract awaiting his call. He leapt to attack, but stopped short as the Darkling suddenly dropped to its knees, blood gushing from a laceration in its throat that hadn't been there a moment ago, its weapon falling to the ground with an almighty crash. Behind it, Shikamaru re-materialised, flicking blood from the edge of one of his trench knives and treating his 'teleportation' as a daily occurrence. There was a lot he had missed while he been away, it seemed. But back to the matter at hand, he glanced back to the corpse of the attacking Darkling just in time to see it disintegrate into a black ichor that sunk into the earth without a trace, most probably retreating into the Otherworld. There was no escaping the one possibility that could have led to this event.

Someone else was summoning Darklings.

**Sorry if this wasn't the action-packed return you were hoping for, but this was meant to be only an introductory chapter for the new arc, based on the first Naruto Shippuden Movie. There's gonna be a few twists though, as usual with this story. Personally, I can't wait until we get to the Zombie Duo and then onto the Chuunin exams! I have several plot twists in the wings ready to unveil at that time. I know I said that last time, but there are more, even devious-er twists for you to get your pretty little heads around! So, until next time, goodnight (as it's about quarter past midnight!)!**

**PS: I just noticed that the first three digits of this fic's ID are 666. Strange coincidence, huh?**

**Next Time, on FSIR:**

**The new adventure has just begun, and already things are getting hot! Not in that way pervs... at least not yet. Explosions, demons, priestesses, battles, minions and some random cake! It's time to do Scien- I mean, it's time to blow shit up!Stay tuned for the next instalment of FSIR! (rolls credits with Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage The Elephant)**


	4. Chapter 4: Remnant

**Chapter 4, Remnant (March of the Undead IV)**

A starless sky hung silently over Demon Country, the wind's unearthly howls echoing through its many canyons and whipping about a hastily-erected marquee, curtains of dark cloth billowing wildly within the confines of their metallic frame. In his obsidian throne, the Sovereign rested a hand in his palm while the other gently shook a glass of red fluid. His darkened eyes met the apprehensive gaze of his new minions, and he allowed a small smirk to tug at his wrinkled cheeks.

"You are familiar, I assume, with the priestess of Demon Country?" The four nodded vigorously. "I thought as much. Your previous employer wished you to kill her to ensure Mouryou's survival. Without Mouryou, however, she is useless. She doesn't yet know this, of course."

"Then what're you askin' us about her for?" Shizuka hissed quietly, but fell silent as the Sovereign levelled his blackened stare upon her. She breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes left her, drifting back to his glass as he took a long draught of its murky contents.

"She expects to be attacked, as Yomi's plan had dictated, and has requested aid from a third party, the shinobi village of Konohagakure, a few hundred miles to the east. One of the shinobi they have sent will be your target."

"Which one?" Setsuna inquired, then hastily added, "I-I mean, who would you have us attack, my lord?" The Sovereign smiled. He hadn't lost his touch during his imprisonment. These four had yet to see even a single iota of his power, and yet they knew instinctively that he could mutilate them in ways they couldn't begin to imagine with only a twitch of his finger and would at the slightest provocation.

"His identity will not be difficult to ascertain. He will be the first to attack, and the last to die." He took another sip of his drink, and smirked darkly. "If that isn't enough, look for the most unusual. I care not whether he is intact, only that you bring him to me alive." A pinprick light flickered in his stygian eyes and vanished, as if a star had been born and died within their black depths. "I will leave it to you to decide where to draw that line." Gitai and Shizuka grinned and shared a sidelong glance. "He, however moronic he may seem, is without a doubt one of the most powerful adversaries I've faced, and I am far from as heartless as to send you unarmed." A silver bowl floated up from his side and came to rest in the air before the gang of four. Within, several lengths of pulsating purple flesh writhed and convulsed. The four shinobi reared back, repulsed by the eyeless, limbless worms, especially when one opened a circular mouth on its front end to reveal rows upon rows of small, triangular teeth that rippled with each movement. "These worms, as I understand it, are designed to improve your abilities exponentially." They nodded in unison and Kusuna, as the team's iro-nin, raised his arm to take the worms. The serpentine abominations leapt from the bowl and latched onto the pale flesh of his forearm. Kusuna winced in pain and his face contorted in a grimace, but he didn't cry out, for fear of what his new master might think of him. The worms quickly burrowed under his skin and vanished, but the rose-haired medical ninja could still feel their tubular bodies, throbbing uncomfortably in time with some unknown body process, swim through the warmth of his body.

"Th-thank you, master," Kusuna managed, his voice shaky as he tried to ignore the pain of the worms pressing against his flesh from the inside, pulling the skin taut and causing large, snaking bulges to protrude from his body. "I... I won't let you down!"

"See that you don't. I may be a benevolent master, but even I have a limit to my patience. I do hope, for your own sakes, that you do not reach it." A shiver travelled the length of the four shinobi's spines, even as they vanished in a gust of wind, hurrying into the night and leaving the Sovereign alone in his tent, sipping from his drink with only the wailing symphony of the wind to fill the sudden silence. A victorious smile pulled at his lips, and his empty eyes glittered with the light of dying stars once more. _'Soon...'_

* * *

Hyuuga Neji winced lightly, scratching at his forearms. The deep itching he'd felt in Bat Country hadn't alleviated for an instant in their travel, and if anything it had escalated to the point of pain. His skin was raw and red, yet still the black marks of his chains burned through the damaged epidermis. It was difficult to ignore the worried looks of the others, most notably Naruto, but he had to. The effects could only be abated by battle, but he couldn't let the others know that, could he? How would that make him look? He'd be considered some sort of battle-obsessed psycho!

"Tch, how far is it to this temple, anyway?" Shikamaru drawled, stretching languidly. Neji, broken from his thoughts, looked up and scanned the path before them, silently activating his Byakugan. There, he thought as the archaic architecture appeared in his eyes as if it were in front of him. At first, tiny dots of blazing azure littered the antiquated structure, but each quickly grew into spidery webs of glowing sapphire that formed the crude silhouette of several hundred human beings milling about the temple.

"We'll be there very soon. No need to sound so irritated, Shikamaru." The slothful Nara grunted deeply, and fell silent. He didn't blame his fellow jounin; they'd been travelling for days now without event, and even he had found himself growing irritated at the uneasy, suffocating silence of their travel. He'd expected, with Naruto-sama on the team, for the mission to be a riotous, turbulent affair as missions tended to be with the Darkness' host in tow, but barely a word passed the blonde's lips. He was almost silent the entire time, and it unnerved the Hyuuga. Perhaps dying had changed him? Neji had to stifle a guffaw. Preposterous. Yet still, the concentrated scowl that pulled at his features as the teen stared blankly at the ground beneath his feet troubled something deep inside him, and not even Haku practically hanging off him was enough to break him from his trance. He also jumped when Naruto's head shot up suddenly. Haku leapt away from the blonde as if stung, worried eyes trained on the blonde who looked almost as if he were sniffing the air.

"The temple!" He cried suddenly, and was gone, taking to the trees with speed Neji hadn't known he possessed. The three followed suit quickly, each sending concerned glances in the blonde's direction. Neji's Byakugan drifted over Naruto's shoulder and shot forward to the temple. His eyes grew wide in shock, and the image blurred for an instant until he regained his focus. One question played on the jounin's mind as they sped through the canopy; how?

* * *

**YoU sMeLl tHaT, dOn'T yOu?**

The question remained unanswered. Naruto ignored the guttural growls of his more recent tenant, and focused only on the deep, resonant throbbing that filled his ears yet was silent to the others. It was strong and regular, like the rich, rhythmic pounding of a war drum. It only grew louder as he raced between the thick, dark trunks of the trees, until it began to drown out the distressed voices of his comrades. His sandaled feet touched down upon the dusty ground in the temple's courtyard, and almost instantly his sword was gripped between his calloused fingers as a sphere of inky blackness formed in the palm of his left hand. There was a flash of white as one of the temple's assailants leapt across his field of vision, wielding the blazing light of a Fire Release jutsu against the priestess' civilian guards. Naruto hissed angrily, his eyes blazing amber as he stormed across the courtyard, his left arm rearing back, and released the ball of darkness in a powerful left-handed throw. The ball bounced a few times as it dropped into the centre of the mass of battling shinobi and guards, and all stopped to stare at it as it rolled to a halt.

"_In'intaru_," he spoke softly, his whiskered cheeks pulled into a smirk as he watch the ball ripple for an instant, before exploding outwards and coating all around it in a field of darkness that solidified into a solid, charcoal mass not unlike the blinding genjutsu used by the Nidaime Hokage. Naruto raised a hand to the orb and touched against it, its walls rippling like water as his arm and soon the rest of his body sank into its embrace and vanished from the world altogether.

"What the _hell _is going on!" One of his captives roared angrily, and he could see the burning scarlet light of another Katon jutsu eat away at the lightlessness around it, before it finally winked out as the power of his technique crushed it into oblivion. "Damn, can't see your hand if it's right in front of your face in this thing... _ouch, dammit!"_The unmistakeable thud of a sandal meeting flesh rung out in the silence, followed by another cry of pain.

"What're you kicking me for, woman? Not as if I _planned _to walk into you!" The second ninja lashed out at the first, or at least, where he thought the first was, and ended up slugging a third, masked shinobi in the jaw, tripping over the legs of the fallen female in the process. "Whoa!" The third caught the arm of the second as he fell, and lifted him into the air with a low growl.

"Try something like that again, asshat, I'll rip out your fuckin' spine, I swear to God." A pitiful whimper sounded through the darkness as the foulmouthed third shinobi dropped the second to the ground unceremoniously. "Now someone better tell me what's what, or I'll beat the hell from everyone in this fucking country!"

"Quiet, all of you!" Even Naruto, who had been struggling to stifle his sniggers, fell silent at the voice of the fourth shinobi, a pink-haired male whose eyes scanned the emptiness, obviously looking for him. He was clearly more collected than the others, and Naruto supposed that he was the leader. "Someone else is here. I can feel another chakra signature, but it's not strong enough to pinpoint." Naruto sighed noiselessly. The time for games was over.

"It seems one of you has some brains, at least." His hand strayed to Pestilence's holster and unclipped the thin leather strap, pulling the silver pistol from its trappings and lining it up with the rosette. The four shinobi were still disoriented, as to them his voice appeared to echo from every direction, but once he attacked the dark globe would be next to useless. He had to make this shot count. "But that won't help you defend against from something you can't see." His finger squeezed the trigger, and a fang of gleaming gold burst from its barrel, tearing toward the enemy.

"_Doton: Doryuuheki!" _One of them yelled as they slammed their hands into the unseen ground, raising walls of earth around the group despite being unable to see the attack or even their own comrades. The blast slammed into the wall of uneven stone with the force of a speeding minivan, and deep cracks tore through its surface in a great web, but the wall did not fall. Naruto sighed, and allowed the darkness to shatter like glass around him, wincing as the sunlight hit his sensitive eyes.

"So you survived the _Kokushokudan _(Black Grenade)," Naruto groaned as the walls lowered and his eyes lazily drifted between the glares of his enemy. Both the orange-haired woman and the silver-haired male, his face masked with a thin piece of cloth, raced toward him, their hands each running through seals. Flames erupted from the masked one's mouth beneath his veil, and blades of wind, almost invisible in the air, flew from the woman's hands as she leapt into the air. Another blast from Pestilence ripped through the wind blades and narrowly missed the girl as she sailed through the sky, and the flames were held back by the thick blade of Naruto's sword. But as the second shinobi, a male with long, dark hair, appeared behind him with arms encased in thick rock, a mirror of glittering ice formed in the air, and a brutal kick shot from its surface and collided with his jaw, hurling him from his feet and off to the side. "Tch," Naruto scoffed, "you guys took your sweet time."

"If you expect us to keep up with you, you're delusional," Shikamaru droned as he stepped out from the shadow of the temple, arms crossed. The female enemy shinobi crashed to the ground heavily, her skin scorched, as Neji's sandals touched down on the ground with his enormous arm-shields manifested and crackling with electricity. He took up a defensive stance before the blonde, trading heated glares with Gitai.

"You, _trash,_" he raised one of the shields' bladed edges to the silver-haired nin's throat, "Have no right to call yourselves ninja. Leave now." Gitai grinned beneath his mask, and his hands burst into flame.

"That right? 'Cause, see, I don't really care if I'm a ninja or not. I just wanna kick ass, is all." Gitai pounced on the Hyuuga and threw him into the temple wall, leaping after him with maniacal cackle. Haku moved to follow, but a slash at her throat from Setsuna's kunai stoped her, and she lashed out with a needle at his midsection. He backed away from the blow and shot a sweeping kick at her legs, which she leapt over and used Setsuna's own shoulder to vault over him and stab at his back. Shizuka, pulling herself to her feet, grinned as she regarded the moaning Nara, and she fished in her pouch for a knife. Shikamaru massaged his brow with one hand, but the other pulled his trench knives from their holsters.

"Why do I always get stuck fighting a girl...?" He asked to no one in particular, eliciting a scowl from Shizuka.

"Y'got a problem with that, lazy ass?" She struck, and was sorely surprised as Shikamaru almost instinctively raised his own knife without leaving his carefree, leaning pose, barely a hint of recognition in his eyes. Did he even notice he was fighting?

"I really want just leave this to the other me, but I feel I should actually put some effort in for once. Can't let Naruto show me up, you know how it is." In a surprising show of strength, Shikamaru pressed against her guard, and forced her backwards with just a single knife. Shizuka's eyes grew wide with realisation as she saw the flash of the other knife out of the corner of her eye, and leapt away from the 'lazy' shinobi. "So come on, shinobi. Make all this wasted energy worth it."

Naruto, naturally, had gotten bored watching the others fight, and so had engaged the remaining enemy, Kusuna, who struggled to hold back the impressive strength of the blonde and his cleaver-like blade with his own kunai, no matter how much more agile than his opponent he may have been. He leapt backwards, ducking under a sideways swipe from the curved sword, and raised his kunai to block an overhead swing, pushing the heavy blade to the side as he rolled away. His feet left the ground in an enormous leap, touching down on the wooden balcony that ran around the perimeter of the temple building and disappearing within one of the rooms.

"Where the hell d'you think you're going?" Naruto yelled as he gave chase, following the med-nin into the darkened room just as a feminine cry rang out sharply. His gleaming yellow eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw Kusuna grab a woman and hold her before him, kunai to her pale throat. Her glittering purple eyes were calm and collected however, and her body, wrapped in heavy robes, was relaxed. Naruto shook his head clear. What was he thinking at a time like this? He raised his sword and pointed its tapered tip at the rose-haired shinobi. "You think that's gonna save you?"

"I hold no delusions in that regard, yet you seem to be hesitating quite wonderfully." His features twisted in a mad grin. "Maybe you really do have a heart, hmm?" Naruto scoffed, but didn't move. Kusuna's eyes flashed and he began to slowly back away, his grip on the priestess never lifting for a moment. "It's been fun, Konoha-nin, but there are a few more acts before the grand finale!"

"Keep talkin', and you're gonna need an understudy." He raised his pistol suddenly and fired off a shot mere millimetres from the priestess' pale skin, and even Kusuna had to release her to slip around the shot, his breathing slightly heavier. The heavily-dressed priestess hurried out of the way, and Naruto grinned. "Just you an' me, now. No more distractions." Kusuna roared and leapt at Naruto with his kunai drawn, unleashing a flurry of stabs and slashes that Naruto blocked and parried with a look of unbridled glee upon his whiskered features. He'd been itching for a fight like this! Sword clashed with kunai with an awful screeching cacophony as they ground against each other, only for Naruto to raise his gun again and fire at Kusuna's face. The med-nin bent over backwards, literally, missing the shot by inches, and wrapped his legs around the sword before twisting and flicking the heavy blade to the side where it lodged deeply within the wall. He smirked and righted himself, sliding forward to thrust a second kunai into Naruto's gut, only to have a tendril, coated in ebony scales and writhing with thick bands of muscle, wrap around his arm and throw him away. He slammed into the wall with a heavy thud and groaned as he slid to the floor, Naruto drawing closer with his gun in hand.

"H-He said you would be strong... but this is..."

"Don't take it personally, babe," Naruto started, lining up Pestilence's barrel with Kusuna's forehead as he looked up with wide eyes, "It just ain't your story." Just as his finger pressed against the smooth trigger, a wave of flame erupted between them and Naruto leapt back to avoid it, only for the masked nin, Gitai, to sweep in and collect up the shaken Kusuna and hurry from the room, vanishing from sight. Neji burst into the room, holding his chest as he panted heavily. "Neji! What happened?"

"Sumimasen, Naruto-sama. I was careless, and allowed the enemy to escape."

"Don't worry about it. Are Haku and Shikamaru's opponents gone too?"

"Yes, the enemy left as a group. What about the priestess?" Naruto nodded to the side, where the priestess knelt quietly, looking quite calm about the whole affair. Neji hurried to her, while Naruto walked out onto the balcony, sheathing his weapons and retracting the Darkness. The throbbing was receding now, as the gang of four escaped into the mountains.

"Who were they?" He asked no one in particular, but a growling laugh made itself known in his mind.

**wOn'T tHiS bE interesting... YoU sEnSe iT tOo, i prEsUmE? **

'_What exactly am I sensing? You seem to know an awful lot about what's going on, but you're not letting much slip.'_

**wHeRe wOuLd bE tHe fUn iN tHaT? i eNjOy wAtChIng hUmaNs sTruGGLe.**

'_Teme...'_

* * *

A sigh escaped the painted lips of Demon Country's priestess, Shion, as she took a kneeling position behind the thin veil as she did at all meetings. She supposed she did owe it to the Konoha shinobi, as she had called them here to begin with, to thank them for saving her life, even if it had been fated to occur as it had. She fidgeted in the tight confines of her kimono; she truly disliked wearing such gaudy formalwear, but it simply wouldn't do for someone of her stature to be seen wearing the cloth of commoners, such as the four knelt before her. The veil lifted just as she returned to her statuesque position, and her eyes slowly opened to show the shimmering purple irises that the people of Demon Country both prized and feared.

"Priestess of Demon Country, Shion-sama," her attendant, Taruho, introduced her as he bowed so low she was sure his forehead met the wooden floor. One of the shinobi, a handsome male with chocolate brown hair that cascaded down his back over his pristine white robes, only to coalesce as it met a thin leather tie. He bowed almost as low as her guard had so that his hair draped over his face, yet he moved awkwardly as he made sure that his arms and hands were covered by his long sleeves at all times.

"Hyuuga Neji, milady. Jounin, and captain of the Konoha ninja squad sent to protect you." Beside him sat an elegant and beauteous woman with long, dark hair that fell even further than the Hyuuga boy's, framing her chalk white face as she smiled politely. Shion sent her an almost piteous look; the girl wore robes just as heavy and unnecessary as her own, yet she didn't seem to suffer from it. If anything, she seemed to enjoy the added heat. How odd.

"Momochi Haku, jounin of Konoha." Next along, a man with an angular face that wasn't helped any by the way his hair was pulled back into a spiky ponytail lounged back leisurely as he sat, legs crossed. His eyes were narrow and he honestly looked as if he might simply doze off at any given moment, yet somehow she could tell that his mind, hidden behind his lethargic exterior, was moving at a mile a minute. He seemed to notice that she was looking to him, as he straightened up and scratched at his jaw, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Nara Shikamaru, jounin," he answered curtly, and returned to his lounging state as her eyes moved from his to the fourth and final member of her bodyguard squad. Her lips parted with an almost silent gasp as she stared at him incredulously, her body trembling ever so slightly.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado Naruto, genin." His words barely registered with her. The unruly mop of sun-kissed blonde, the enthralling sapphire orbs that seemed to simply extend for fathoms without a care for the dimensions of his skull, the whiskered cheeks that lent him a feral, bestial countenance and the overbearing aura of darkness that hung around his form like smoke... Her eyes slid to the floor, and let an unperceivable frown flow across her face. Here was another, walking to his death.

"The attack earlier this morning claimed the lives of many of my fellow temple guards and, as Shion-sama had predicted, my friend Susuki was among them." Her eyes closed slowly. Despite the cold exterior she had always shown, she did in fact have a heart. She would keep her vision a secret, at least for a little while longer, so that this boy, this unsuspecting, greenhorn shinobi, could face his end in blissful ignorance. Her emotions could be quashed, as they had been countless times before, and so she donned her frigid expression once more.

"Of course. And as you can see, I still live. That is what they died to ensure, so I am sure they have no regrets." Perhaps that was a bit much, she mused, as she saw the blonde boy's eyes alight with anger. His fingers clenched into fists, and he rose to his feet despite the protests of the pretty Hyuuga. His heavy footfalls caused the ancient wooden floorboards to groan as he drew close to the priestess whose amethyst eyes were wide with surprise and fear as his calloused fingers grabbed a rough fistful of her kimono and pulled her off the floor, her face mere inches from his own. She could feel his hot, heavy breath on her delicate skin as his vocal chords ground together in a low growl, and his cobalt eyes, flickering with a burning scarlet that seared something deep inside her.

"What'd you just say?" Her mouth opened and closed noiselessly as she tried fruitlessly to find some counter for this disgraceful show of violence. "What the hell kinda attitude is that? Those people _died _for you, and all you can say is 'they did their duty'! They're not your tools, they're human bein- agh!" Shion released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding when Naruto's fingers were torn, forcefully, from their grip on her kimono as thick bands of some strange, two-dimensional black substance wrapped around his limbs and pulled him backwards, though only a few inches. She noticed the lazy shinobi twisting his fingers about each other, the muscles in his arms tensing in time with the movements of the black limbs, but the blonde was far stronger than he appeared, pulling back against the ethereal fingers that bound him.

"Sumimasen, Shion-sama," the girl, Haku, apologised profusely, bowed deeply once more as Naruto hissed angrily at his slothful teammate. "Naruto-kun tends to take things a little too far..."

"It's quite alright," she assured the pale-faced kunoichi, smoothing out her kimono with one hand, while simultaneously struggling to quell her rapidly beating heart. She'd seen people fly into mindless rages before; the general populace had this irritating tic about taking offence when you tell them that their loved one was 'supposed to die'. But the fury that still smouldered within Naruto's cooling eyes was different. Her insides turned to ice, her body shook uncontrollably, and her heart felt as if it would tear itself from her breast if the fear that he set in her grew any further, the fear that she realised was because unlike those villagers, whose empty words felt like nothing but a passing breeze, he could and _would _do something about it. "Just see that it doesn't affect my mission. My journey is of the utmost importance, and I won't have an overemotional child ruin this world with his silly little tantrum." Naruto's eyes turned on her again, blazing once more, though with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"You have nothing to fear, Shion-sama," Neji said calmly. "He may allow his feelings to get the better of him occasionally, but he truly is a skilled shinobi. I myself, regardless of rank or position, hold him in the highest regard." She'd already stopped listening, turning instead to the furious blonde. She could feel a sneer tug at her lips, but crushed it under her impassive facade as her violet eyes met with his. She would not allow such impudence to go unchecked!

"You, Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado Naruto," she stopped to take a breath after such an impossibly long name, "will be pierced through the heart and die, very soon." She watched with no small amount of sick amusement as his eyes widened in shock. His mouth opened without a sound, and all the anger he'd gathered vanished into the wind. It was almost comical, the way such a proud warrior, hardened through battle, could become little more than a frightened child by such simple words.

"Again?"

Shion blinked slowly. What? Where was the fear, the horrible petrifying fear of an untimely end? She'd heard of people, however few they may be, that had come to terms with their own mortality and the fact that they would, eventually, expire. Memento mori, and all that. But such a calm, almost bored outlook, and his choice of words, was simply unnatural. And so, she expressed her confusion in the most eloquent way possible.

"Buh-wah?"

* * *

**That's a wrap! Sorry, this one took even longer than the last time. My computer bugged out royally, and this chapter ended up being way more of a bitch to write than I thought... y'know, screw it. I won't try to defend myself, because I have no excuse compared to others I've seen (NeonZangetsu, SamJaz, etc.). Still, I started off thinking I was gonna hate this chap, it was gonna be horrible, yadda yadda, but I think it turned out okay. At least two references in here, cookie for each one. I know I kinda made Shion into a total cow at the end, but she'll level out... probably. On a related note, I now have the storyline panned out! It does however mean that after the movie arc there'll only be four or five arcs left until this story ends. Boo.**

**Next Time, on FSIR:**

**The Mission in Demon Country has begun, and Naruto is already at odds with the client, while the Sovereign and his Gang of Four are relentlessly pursuing their group. With their enemies multiplying, can Naruto and company make it out of this one alive, let alone intact? Find out next time! Goodnight! (Rolls credits, with Crouching Camper Hidden Sniper by Machinae Supremacy)**


	5. Chapter 5: I Write Sins Not Tragedies

**Chapter 5, I Write Sins Not Tragedies**

Shion could have screamed. If his blatant disrespect at the temple was not enough, his continued disregard for her safety, security, and general wellbeing would've, _should've _been enough to drive her over the edge. And yet, despite his constantly and unprofessionally flippant attitude toward her, not once did she lash out, scream, or even call him out on his behaviour. She just seemed to tolerate him and his, albeit begrudgingly and without a care for how she truly felt inside.

Still, having Taruho at her side, despite how adamantly she'd argued against her presence, made her situation slightly more bearable. The Hyuuga bishounen appeared to harbour a vested interest in her welfare as well, though she still could not discern, through the jounin's iron scowl, whether his intentions were sincere or whether he was simply hurting for his next paycheque. But motives aside, the two 'allies' she had were a great reassurance when face with the other three.

The slothful boy - Nara, she vaguely remembered - didn't manifest as a threat, at least not outwardly, but she had little knowledge of the processes of his mind. His drowsy eyes seemed to whir like well-oiled cogs as they betrayed a wisdom and tactical mind far beyond one of his years, those few times he put enough effort into the task at hand for his impressive intellect to truly come into play. Even so, he was polite enough that she didn't want to mark him as a potential enemy, but couldn't rule him out entirely, either.

Then, there was the Estacado's lapdog, Momochi Haku. Shion could almost feel her skin twist and distort in disgust. This _kunoichi, _miserable excuse for a woman that she was, hung on the blonde's every word, and often his arm, like a giddy little schoolgirl, and the shameless pervert didn't even have the decency to react towards her all too obvious advances! But she'd come to him later. For as long as Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado Naruto (it was difficult to pronounce even in her own mind) remained her foe, so too would the girl, and, delicate as she may seem, the dancer's grace she held herself with was quite capable of mutilating a human body beyond recognition should anything come between her and her beloved.

And finally, the object of her considerable ire. She could look past the arrogant nature and spiteful jabs if he was truly a respectable human being underneath, but that was just the issue. He wasn't a respectable _anything, _and his words in the temple had lead her to doubt that he was even human at all. He was rude, brash, violent, snide, cynical; in short, all of the personality traits she despised, never mind that a good few described her to a T. On top of that, he had vehemently questioned and berated her own attitude, despite being wholly unfamiliar with her culture, and had even displayed his mistrust in the powers of clairvoyance she'd inherited from her mother, her predecessor as Demon Country's cherished priestess. Well, she'd show him, wouldn't she? When his blood pooled around his dying shell as he suffered his fatal puncture wound, he would realise, eyes filled with regret, just how real her powers were.

"Just what are you doing?" Shion jumped a foot in the air when the aforementioned shinobi pushing his messy blonde mop through the flap of her tent, eyebrow arched inquisitively. Her face flushed in embarrassment when she realised she had been rather loudly cackling to herself in a decidedly malevolent manner. Still, her amethyst eyes narrowed dangerously as she eyed him from head to toe, silently questioning his presence. As if in response, an arm snaked into the confines of the canvas tent, topped with a hand laden with a rough, curved bowl hewn from some dark wood she didn't recognise, and from it wafted perhaps the most delightful aroma she'd ever had the pleasure of the experiencing. He set the bowl carefully onto the tent's floor before her crossed legs, showing it to be filled with a thick, creamy liquid in which floated several large white lumps along with some barely recognisable vegetables. Its appearance did nothing to deter her from tucking into the offered sustenance with an unfamiliar fervour.

"This is amazing!" she praised, something she didn't often do. The stew was still boiling to the point that it made her teeth hurt, yet she barely gave herself a chance to swallow one mouthful of thick ambrosia before delivering the next to her waiting lips.

"It's just stew, geez."

"I assume this is the Hyuuga boy's handiwork?" He looked to be the delicate, househusband type who would prefer cooking and cleaning to manual labour; the sensitive, feminine lady-man that girls often dreamed of marrying only to realise later that it wasn't as heavenly as it appeared.

"Actually, I made it." Shion froze. She reluctantly lowered the spoon, still laden with its cargo of delicious stew, and dropped into the bowl as if it had stung her, pushing the bowl away.

"I don't want it."

Naruto scowled and took back the bowl, ignoring the near-silent whimpers that escaped the priestess' lips. "Fine," he growled softly, "you can starve for all I care. S'not like you're doing any of the legwork, anyway." He vanished from sight, bowl and all, missing Shion's saddened expression. The snide remark didn't affect her in the slightest: she expected to be carried to her destination, even if it was by the frigid Momochi girl, whom she was certain had nearly dropped her on purpose on their journey to the campsite. Naruto, despite their current opposition, cared enough about her wellbeing to bring her food he himself had prepared, regardless of how irritated he'd seemed, and what had she done? Essentially thrown it back in his face, simply because it was the work of someone she wasn't particularly fond of. What did she think he was going to do, poison her? She was his client, after all. The mission would be considered a failure and at the very least he would be paid nothing for his troubles. _Perhaps I should apologise..._ Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a yawn, and she stretched languidly. _Tomorrow._

* * *

"How is she?" Neji inquired from his place by the fire, the crackling flames lending an orange hue to his otherwise ghostly pale flesh. Naruto grumbled quietly and dropped Shion's bowl by the fireside, caring not for its creamy contents as they spilled out over the loamy soil. Neji sighed. "That bad, huh?"

"Oh, she'll be fine," Naruto allowed with a bestial snarl, "once she removes the ten-foot pole from her ass. Either that, or I'll surgically remove it for her."

Neji paled. "Please, don't."

"Don't be such a baby. It worked with you, didn't it?"

Neji paled even further, if that was possible. "I beg you, Naruto-sama, don't do to her what you did to me! She may not survive!"

"I don't know what you're grousing about."

"You blew me up," Neji reminded him slowly, to which Naruto grinned in response.

"Please..." The 'friendly banter' ground to a halt as both shinobi turned to the unexpected new member of their party: Taruho, who had up to this moment been almost completely silent. His head was lowered, eyes shadowed by his fringe even as his elliptical glasses glinted in the fire's light. "Please, don't be too hard on Shion-sama. I understand that she can be difficult to work with at times, but her life has not been easy."

Neji rolled his eyes and looked away. Taruho, despite his best efforts, had just lost any chance of reconciling with a good majority of the team, himself included. After all, the person who'd said they had a hard life in Naruto's presence had his face repeatedly rearranged by a cliff wall. Still, he was surprised to see the blonde listening intently to the bespectacled attendant's explanation, though he realised Naruto was probably searching for a valid reason to beat Shion's skull until it caved.

"Since a young age, Shion-sama has been both feared and loved for her supernatural abilities. After all, though her visions allowed Demon Country to prosper, oftentimes she would give frighteningly accurate predictions of people's deaths. The people, or at least some of them, began to loathe this power as they believed that it was causing the deaths of their loved ones, rather than the other way around."

"People fear that which they don't understand." All three almost jumped when Shikamaru's voice drifted over to them from his own seat at the cliff's edge, legs dangling limply over the abyss as he stared blankly up at the stars. "And fear is the kindling of anger, after all. You of all people should understand that logic, Naruto." Both Neji's and Taruho's eyes turned to the blonde, who had lowered his own gaze to the roiling flames, face twisted into a frown. Truth be told, Neji didn't know all that much about Naruto's situation, only what the Nara had deigned to let slip during that fateful mission three years prior, but even people like Temari of Suna, who didn't know the Estacado well, knew that much. He knew that the boy had been shunned in his childhood by the village populace, his own clan included, but he knew not why.

"You say that like it's supposed to mean something. Sure, we might've been treated similarly, but if I'd turned out like that, I'd shoot myself. That kind of treatment, no matter how severe, is no excuse for acting like a stuck-up bitch." An uneasy silence fell about the camp as each of the males found themselves at a loss for words. Finally, Taruho let out a heavy sigh and pulled himself to his feet.

"I'm going to patrol the perimeter for a bit. Please, think about what I said?" And with that, he was gone, vanishing into the long shadows of the night. Shikamaru groaned and stood up as well, stretching awkwardly as he took Taruho's place by the fire.

"Now that he's gone, I have a theory." Neji raised an eyebrow. What could the Nara be contemplating that he had to wait until Taruho was out of earshot? "Just hear me out, aright? I've been goin' over the attack on the temple, and something's just not right. The rogue ninja's actions don't add up."

"What do you mean?" Neji quizzed. "Three of them held us off while the fourth went after the target. Seems fairly standard to me."

"That's just the thing. Naruto, you said that when you arrived in the priestess' room, the enemy leader was holding Shion-sama hostage?" Naruto nodded slowly. "If our target seeks Mouryou's resurrection as we've been led to believe, surely the best plan of action would be to kill her and be done with it, but he didn't. He waited for you to arrive before even beginning to act as a threat toward the priestess, though I believe even that was simply a ruse. He engaged you in battle, something ordinary shinobi wouldn't have done had the priestess' life or even escape been their top priority. These small factors lead me to the belief that Shion-sama was never truly being targeted in the first place."

"But why would those four attack, then? Surely they must have had some kind of agenda. My opponent may have been a bit of a battle-nut, but the others seemed normal enough, as enemies go."

"Yes, I'm sure they did have a plan in mind." He stopped, and levelled a serious stare on the blonde. "You know, don't you?"

Naruto nodded. "The pink-haired guy said that I was 'stronger than he said I'd be'." The teen sighed. "I'm the target. Again."

"So we know what our enemy is after, at least, but we're still in the dark as to who they're working for and what their motive is."

"Perhaps someone has a grudge against Naruto-sama?" Neji offered helpfully, but almost immediately shook his head. Information like that would be next to useless due to the sheer number of people that could possibly hold a grudge against the Estacado, not to mention the fact that he had a tendency of killing his opponents. Shikamaru appeared to agree.

"We can't possibly eliminate that possibility, though it isn't likely. Potential grudge-holders don't generally live long enough. Either way, I highly doubt we've seen the last of these four, so both of you should remain on your guard.

* * *

"Ugh, this is so uncomfortable!" Haku bit back the malicious comment that had been festering in her throat for much of their journey and winced as Shion's knees dug into her ribs for the umpteenth time, and not by accident. It was quite clear to the Hyouton-wielder that Shion disliked her, but that suited just fine. Why would she desire companionship from _her, _one who despised her beloved Naruto-kun, the one who'd freed her from the life of a weapon all those years ago, with such a passion?

Her dark eyes drifted to her love's back as he raced across the flooded ravine before her, and worried. She'd spent much time observing him, much like a certain Hyuuga heiress, and as a result she knew what tiny signs could betray his emotions, even if he didn't willingly show them. His hand twitched every so often to the gun at his wait, and his eyes were narrowed dangerously, flickering a bright yellow, though not a cheerful yellow; it reminded her of all manner of old, foul, bad yellow things, none of which even bore thinking about. Something was troubling him, but what? His feud with Shion? No, such a petty squabble wouldn't put him in such an agitated state as the one he was in now.

"Why are we even taking this route, anyway?" Haku groaned. She just didn't keep quiet, did she? Neji's voice seemed to echo between the chasms walls even over the roar of the waterfalls.

"Last time we faced the four rogue ninja, they used Katon, Fuuton, and Doton techniques. By taking this route, one which traverses a large body of water, we can limit their potential to attack and retaliate accordingly. In addition, at least two members of this team can utilise the water to strengthen their own abilities, myself being one of them." Yes, the large amount of water would allow her to use her ice techniques to great effect, but was it really worth all this trouble? She could, with enough concentration, create ice using simply moisture in the air much like the Nidaime Hokage's Suiton ninjutsu, and taking a different route would allow them to reach their destination with time to spare, thereby reducing the amount of time she had to spend in the presence of this utter _cow! _"This is the home stretch, now. This is the enemy's last chance, so they'll be pulling out all the stops to reach their goal, just as we will be. Be ready for a battle." As if on cue, a high, screeching roar shook the stone walls that surrounded them as the water shook with waves from some unseen source. Each of the four shinobi, along with the two civilians, leapt from the rock they'd stopped on, if only for a moment, as it exploded violently in a shower of icy water. Haku's sandals ground against the rough surface of the next boulder as her eyes met with the gleaming golden ones of the Suiton: Suiryuudan that had erupted from the depths of the ravine, its jaws opening and closing noiselessly as it stared down its prey.

"What, d'ya think we're dumb or something!" Behind the watery serpent, Shizuka grinned and raised an arm, firing countless jets of water around the dragon's twisting body as it swayed, and in the direction of Haku herself. The dark-haired kunoichi smirked. With one hand keeping Shion firmly secured on her back, Haku used her free hand to run through a few hand seals and raised her fingers to her pale lips, before exhaling heavily in a great gust of arctic wind. The blizzard met with the spheres of water with full force, and immediately each one froze in place and dropped to the ground, shattering harmlessly. Shizuka's grin faded, and she scowled. "So, you're a bloodline user, huh? Got one of those _kekkei genkai, _huh!" She seemed to grow more and more irate with each passing moment. "I hate people like that!" The Suiryuudan speared its head toward Haku, who leapt just as its pointed muzzle collided with her perch with the force of a freight train, and touched a single hand to the beast's neck, freezing it stiff instantly. Using this as a platform, she leapt from the chasm up to the cliff's edge, letting Shion down in the process.

"Wh... What was that!" she shrieked, and Haku winced. "I thought you said they weren't going to use water-based attacks! You were wrong, big time!"

"That was our assumption." _And it was damn good one, _she mused, watching as her three companions followed her out of the reach of Shizuka's Suiton jutsu. Perhaps they assumed too much? After all, it was more than possible for a shinobi to master an element beyond their own affinity, as was generally the requirement for advancement to higher ranks, so she shouldn't be surprised. Yet, she'd become adept at feeling out others' chakra, not on the level of one with a doujutsu mind you, but still better than your average shinobi, and she could tell that the composition of the rogue shinobi's chakra had been horrendously altered. "Guess we were wrong," she replied stoically. She felt a small victory as Shion fumed silently.

"The enemy is before us," Neji stated calmly, his voice deepening as his bladed shields manifested, their surfaces crackling with lightning. True to his word, the masked shinobi and the dark-haired male stood together on the other side of the river, their skin marred by odd marking that formed patterns over their faces and bodies. "And behind us, it seems." The rose-haired leader appeared behind them in a blur, smirking as his arms crossed over his chest. "We're surrounded. There's no alternative but to fight our way out." Neji allowed a smirk to flow across his stony features. "Do whatever you want. I'll take care of Shion-sama."

"That's what I've been waiting for!" Naruto leapt, Shikamaru at his side as he drew his knives, and fired a shot at the masked ninja, who raised a wall of earth to protect himself and his comrade from the duo's attacks. But Haku had no time to stand and watch, as the ground beneath her erupted in a spray of pressurised water, causing her to leap into the air to avoid it. Behind her, Shizuka held a hand to the ground with a maniacal grin.

"You don't have the luxury to ignore me, girly. Your bloodline ain't gonna protect you forever!" Her grin faded momentarily as she dodged a rain of needles that pierced the ground, only to dissolve into water moments later as the chakra for Haku's Sensatsu Suishou dissipated into the air. Haku's sandals touched the stone ground once more, crystalline mirror in hand as she pulled on the reservoir of the Darkness' energy within her, ready for battle. Shizuka frowned. "S'that part of your bloodline too? Fuckin' weak, girly. I know all about people like you, people who get weak relying on that special little power, but like to act all strong. The only way to win... is through guts and pure kick-ass!"

"Such hypocrisy. You aren't relying on your own power, are you? Your chakra signature has changed altogether, something that simply can't happen." Shizuka growled, and threw herself at the kunoichi, launching a fist at her face. Haku ducked under the blow and knocked her clenched fingers aside with the back of her hand, before thrusting her own fist deep into Shizuka's gut. The rogue ninja gasped in pain as she felt Haku's icy knuckles sink into her flesh like knives, only to be propelled forcefully backwards as the muscles in Haku's arm tensed up and she cast her opponent aside. "Just because I specialise in Suiton and Hyouton techniques doesn't mean I don't know how to fight bare-handed. I _am _a jounin, after all." The rogue kunoichi roared as she leapt to her feet and rushed the girl, sliding under a grab at her throat and pushing off the ground with both hands to throw a kick at Haku's head. She cried out as her foot bent awkwardly, colliding harshly against a smooth, solid surface that erected in the girl's place, though the pain quickly faded as foot began to grow numb with cold and she dropped to the ground. Haku's slender body twisted gracefully around the mirror's edge, her upper half protruding from the opposite face of the hastily-formed frozen construct as a clever, yet strangely serene smile appeared on her pale skin.

"Th... That was a cheap trick..!" Shizuka growled out as she wrapped her hands around her ankle, trying to get some feeling back into the injured limb. Haku rolled her eyes and stepped free from the mirror, shattering it with a touch as she watched her foe struggle.

"We're _shinobi, _get over it already." Favouring her good leg, Shizuka leapt away from the Hyouton-wielder and back down into the ravine, her feet touching down on the water with little more than a ripple. Haku followed after her, the water freezing for a few inches in each direction as her dark sandals set down upon it. "So you're back in your element, whoop-dee-doo. In case you hadn't noticed, so am I." As if to prove her point, a thin jet of water shot upwards and immediately solidified into an icy spear, which she twirled between her fingers.

"D-Damn you! I'm n...not gonna let you best me, Konoha _bitch!" _Shizuka struggled to shriek as the cold in her leg continued to spread throughout her body. Haku stopped, holding the lance firm in her hand as she levelled a glare on her enemy. Her arm drew back, but before the weapon could leave her grasp, the cliff face exploded in a shower of rubble and dust, though a bestial roar could still be heard over the crashing stone.

* * *

"That's what I've been waiting for!" Naruto yelled as he descended on his own opponent, one hand flashing to the hilt of his sword and the other to his holstered gun. He shared a look with Shikamaru, who managed a small smirk as he drew his knives, just before his blade cut the air on its approach to his foe's pale flesh. But as the gleaming steel met with the arm he raised to defend himself, it clashed noisily, making no visible damage. Naruto frowned, whipped his gun around and fired a blast in Gitai's veiled face in one fluid motion, enveloping the rogue in a blast of ochre, leaping away a few yards only to raise his sword once more, high above his head. The blade, cloaked in a mixture of indomitable black and shimmering gold, howled as it fell through the air, unleashing the stored power within as a single, crescent-shaped arc of pure destruction.

"_**Kuroi Yaiba!" **_The familiar wave of energy tore through the space between Naruto and Gitai, disappearing into the still growing explosion that consumed the silver-haired shinobi, and the resounding shockwave was almost enough to throw Naruto himself from his feet. The ground buckled beneath him, but just held as the cloud of dust expanded outwards and dissipated into nothingness, leaving what remained of Gitai behind. "What the... hell are you?"

Gitai grinned as the cracks that webbed out over his face from the first attack began to meld together, leaving clean, unbroken skin behind, and the shoulder-to-hip diagonal gash that went completely through him, to the point where Naruto could see the other side, slowly began to close up as well as the two halves of his body repaired themselves. "I'm not as easy an opponent as you'd thought, obviously. My Doton jutsu allows me to take just about any punishment, let alone the pathetic lovetaps you just sent my way. So, is it my turn yet?" It wasn't meant to be answered. The broken earth beneath their feet rippled as great pillars of solid stone rose from the ground with frightening velocity, forcing Naruto to roll to the side to avoid being swept up with them. His eyes began to gleam with the light of the Darkness as his Creepers and Demon Arms swayed in the air around him. One tentacle shot out to the side and wrapped around the base of one of the stone pillars and, with an incredible show of force, tore it from the ground and swung it at Gitai like a club. The stone bat moved with far too great a speed for the masked nin to evade, and he was swatted away with all the simplicity of swatting a fly. He soared through the air, only for his body to jerk back violently as another Arm wrapped around his ankle and pulled him back towards Naruto. His body slammed into the ground with an awful crack, and Naruto's tentacle released its grip around his leg.

"Try getting up from that one."

"I will." Expectedly, Gitai pushed himself up from the ground and rolled his neck as his broken body moved back into place with a crunch. "Is this it? You're not putting up much of a fight, are you? And here that old jackass tells us you're supposed to be some great warrior or some shit like that. What's up, hero? Not feeling well?"

Naruto sighed, holstered his gun and sheathed his gun. "Guess I should stop pretending."

"Pretending what?"

"That you're actually anything close to a good match." The power seemed to explode out of him as the ground shattered even further. The Creepers writhed with a disgusting squeal of pleasure, their bone armour clicking rhythmically as the plates rubbed against each other. His eyes, where before they'd simply glowed with the energy of his symbiote, seemed to _burn _as they released thin wisps of yellow. In an instant, he was before Gitai, the stone surface behind him torn in two from the force of his movement, and his fingers gripped the masked shinobi's face with enough pressure to cause his skull to creak audibly from the strain. He lifted Gitai, by his head, and threw him across the ground closer to the cliff's edge, before leaping after him, sphere of spiralling yellow in hand as he bore down on his foe. _**"Kiiroi Rasengan!"**_

Gitai's burnt and broken body, ravaged by the rampant energy barely contained within Naruto's hand, dropped uselessly to the ground as Shizuka looked on, horrified at the extent of the damage done to the seemingly invincible shinobi. Naruto touched down on the water beside Haku, grinning widely as he crossed his arms behind his head. The pale kunoichi allowed a pale blush to colour her face, however slightly, and returned his smile. Setsuna too dropped into the crater left by Naruto's jutsu, his skin marred by deep, clean gashes that tore deep into his flesh as red stains blossomed on his pristine white robes. Shikamaru appeared on the water's edge in a crouch, sighing heavily as he dusted off his shoulders.

"Guess you didn't have much trouble, huh?" Naruto said with a deadpan expression as Shikamaru was entirely unharmed, and his clothes were barely even dirtied by the short exchange with Setsuna. "And you, Haku-chan?"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE!" Shizuka screamed, her hands flashing through hand seals as another water dragon formed from the lake, only to explode in a shower of liquid as Pestilence's barrel exploded outwards.

"Did you forget? We're Konoha shino- gack!" Naruto was cut off as he coughed a thin rivulet of crimson, his body jerking forward slightly. A spear of stone erupted from his chest, leading back to Gitai's outstretched arm as he pushed himself up off the ground with a weak smirk.

"Don't write me off already!" He tore the spear from Naruto's chest and jumped to his feet, swinging a fist at Haku only to have it blocked by one of Shikamaru's knives. The girl herself, however...

* * *

Warm blood sprayed into the air, and Haku froze. Naruto-kun had been _injured. _It was a foolish thought to assume that simply because he was strong that made him invincible; his previous two deaths were a testament to that fact. Still, it was a rare occurrence that Haku hadn't often experienced. She felt her cold blood boil with rage as Naruto-kun's bloodied body dropped like a stone. Her fingers gripped the curved handle of her hand mirror so hard she was sure she heard a crack over the deep pounding in her ears. Her eyes, normally as dark and calm as she was, flashed the same yellow that she feared and loathed each and every time Naruto-kun's own sapphire orbs lit up the same foul hue. She saw, on the edges of her vision that was trained solely on _that_ _bastard _rogue that had dared to touch what was hers,Shikamaru turn to her, and his lips moved as his brow furrowed in worry, though she could not hear his voice over the rhythmic throbbing that seemed to echo off her skull and return full force. Her breath crystallised as the water beneath her feet froze over, and mirrors began to form in a wide circle around each of the six ninja. A sadistic smirk formed on her pale face as Gitai, Setsuna and Shizuka looked around at the mirrors which quickly surrounded them with a look of panic in their eyes, searching for an escape route even as the mirrors began to form a dome around them, trapping them.

**ThAt'S riGhT... sHoW thEm...**

The voice didn't have to tell her twice. Almost immediately, the yellow light began to shine on the mirrors' surface, and quickly the image changed. Rather than show the dumbstruck reflections of those encased within the prison of ice, it showed something that wasn't. She watched as Gitai's eyes began to burn in fury and jealousy, and his large fists clenched, crimson eyes narrowing into a smouldering glare aimed at his teammate, Shizuka. With one swift motion, he tore the veil from his face, revealing the vicious snarl that bared his triangular, shark-like teeth, and surged at the girl with a roar. His fist closed around her throat and threw her into one of the many mirrors that surrounded them, a loud crack reverberating throughout the dome, yet when Shizuka slid from the mirror into a heap on the frozen ground, the mirror was completely unharmed. _Oh, _Haku thought with a dark, twisted smile as Shizuka's body crumpled uselessly, _that crack was her. _The orange-haired female's eyes lit up in anger as she weakly pulled herself into a kneeling position.

"Wh-Wh... What the fuck d'ya think you're doing, jackass! Didja forget who I am or somethin'!" She growled out through heavy, laboured breaths, her body racked with pain. Gitai stalked over to her with a maniacal grin, grabbing her wrist and wrenching her from the ground as she let out a sharp cry.

"You don't get to talk, double-dealing bitch! You think you're better than me, huh? No one's better than me!" He forced his fist into her gut and slammed her into the ground, the icy lake cracking heavily under the strain, yet reformed almost instantly under the influence of Haku's power. His foot collided with Shizuka's side in a violent kick, and her useless, broken body rolled along the floor as a thin thread of crimson spilled from between her lips. "Aw, is that it? And you really considered yourself any kind of match for me? Face it, bitch; you're nothing compared with someone of my calibre. Heh, you couldn't even win against that ice whore, right?" Haku's eyes narrowed in a cold, merciless glare. It was amusing watching the power of Envy take its toll on Gitai as he came to blows with his own teammate with the kind of passion reserved for mortal enemies, but he wasn't allowed to insult _her _in such a way. No one was. And so, the mirrors lit up again, and this time it was Shizuka's eyes that lit up in fury. Without pausing for needless chatter, she drew a pair of knives and threw herself forcefully at the silver-haired nin, shrieking as she sailed through the air. Gitai scowled and raised an arm to defend, the blades bouncing harmlessly against the surface of his earthen armour, and struck out at her chin with an uppercut. Shizuka bent over backwards, literally, under the strike and flipped over, catching Gitai's chin with a flip kick and throwing him off his feet.

"What the hell... what's gotten into you, stupid bitch? What're you attackin' me for!" Haku smiled victoriously. Everything appeared to be going wondrously. Gitai held no memories of his possession, and was utterly confused as to why Shizuka had taken to him with her blades. Yes, everything was wonderful... except that _damned throbbing! _It grew and grew, until she couldn't maintain a cognitive thought over the horrible, echoing boom in her mind, and...! Her hands clutched at her head as she cried out in agony. She heard Shikamaru's worried cry, if only just, but he was on the other side of the dome and right now she hadn't the mental power to let him through. Her eyes shot open wide as a wave of pain racked her body. The glowing yellow orbs began to settle into more normal looking eyes, with sclera, iris and pupil, though still maintain a yellow hue in the iris. Her long, dark tresses bled a pure snow white, whipping around her as a cold, arctic wind began to tear through the area. Gitai and Shizuka both roared as they leapt at each other, ignorant of Haku's plight, only for a hand to grip each of them by the collar and pull them apart like squabbling children. Shizuka was tossed aside like nothing, her body bouncing as it collided with the ground, while the now free hand slammed into Gitai's face with a force the silver-haired shinobi didn't know existed, the bones of his face creaking and cracking as the tanned knuckles buried into him and forced out of the dome _through _a mirror.

And finally, the mysterious figure turned to Haku, but rather than attack her, he knelt down to her. Haku looked up, and through her hazy vision saw the one she'd been praying for. Naruto looked down at her in worry, placing a hand on her shoulder, and almost instantly the pain was gone. Her body felt warm and excited as Naruto's fingers danced across her skin, even through her robes, checking her for any injuries. Tears spilled from her still golden eyes as her body trembled, and she threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace, pressing her cold, pale lips to his quickly before burying her face in his shoulder. Naruto, though mildly stunned at first, recovered quickly and held her to him, allowing his warmth to flow into her icy form.

* * *

"How long can you keep running from me, Konoha-nin?" Neji scoffed and altered his course slightly, taking him further from the pursuing Kusuna and the battlefield where his teammates stayed behind. The crazed cackle that echoed through the forest grated on his patience, and a considerable part of him wanted to drop the priestess and silence that awful noise for good. But that would be unprofessional, and the Hyuuga, despite how much he tried to distance himself from their rigid belief system, were nothing if not professional. The head of the clan treated his own daughters as mere acquaintaces for Kami's sake. And so despite her uncomfortable shifting and occasional complaints, he simply shifted Shion's weight a little and sped up, forcing Kusuna to accelerate to catch up.

"Let me take Shion-sama, Hyuuga-san." Neji looked to the side. Surprisingly, despite the arguments of the priestess, Taruho could hold his own in terms of speed, even when compared to a shinobi of his calibre. It begged the question why he allowed Shikamaru to carry him this far, but at present the situation required more concentration than he could spare. Still, the man had a point. They couldn't keep going on as they had, not with the distance between he and the rest of his team increasing with each passing moment. He knew that he was powerful, but his pride wasn't so great that he believed himself invincible. A certain member of his team, however, he had his doubts about, so without knowing what laid in wait for them at their destination it would be the intelligent approach to take the undead blonde with them. Back to the matter at hand, though, and Neji sighed. He stopped on a thick tree bough, and allowed Shion's slight arms to slip from around his neck as she set down shakily upon the sturdy branch. Taruho took the girl upon his own back and, with a nod to Neji, raced off into the trees.

"Glad that's taken care of..." Neji turned to face Kusuna as he stopped on a branch across from him, and slipped into the familiar stanace of the Jyuuken, despite having left it unused for a long time. "I won't need to use that against you, if I'm right in assuming that you are unable to use such powerful ninjutsu as your comrades."

"You need to look underneath the underneath, Konoha-nin. Don't take me at face value." Neji smirked. Naruto must be rubbing off on him.

"Well, of course. With that look, if I'd taken you at face value I'd have written you off as a one-eyed queer." Kusuna's single visible eyes widened momentarily, before his entire body began to shake with rage. He threw himself at the Hyuuga, whipping out a kusari-gama and hurling the weighted chain through the air. Neji smiled at his victory and thrust his arm forward, loading his tenketsu full of chakra ready to use one of the Hyuuga's Hakke arts he'd learned for just such an occasion. _"Hakke Kuu-" _Neji stopped as his arm jerked forward, Kusuna's chain wrapping around the extended limb like a snake as the weight dangled freely. His white eyes darted to Kusuna, who grinned triumphantly. Damn, Neji thought to himself. Kusuna's rage was simply a ploy to get him to lower his guard. He'd played him, a proud member of the Hyuuga clan and a jounin of Konoha, so easily it was pitiful. The med-nin's hands clasped around the chain as his index and middle fingers on both hands extended into the universal tiger seal. Neji's eyes widened in surprise as Kusuna inhaled heavily, and a gout of blazing orange flame leapt from his throat, clutching the chain as it travelled toward Neji. The flame, reaching the end of its tether, exploded outwards and consumed the Hyuuga in its fiery embrace as Kusuna dropped to another tree branch and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, aren't we a pretty little hypocrite?" The rogue shinobi frowned as the flame split in two at the touch of Neji's bladed shield, lightning arcing off its surface to singe the wood around him. "Don't underestimate me like that, ever. _Kouman'na Geijutsu: Choukai Yarisazame (Prideful Arts: Disciplinary Spear Rain)!" _The shield sliced through the air, and following its trail dozens of thin, electric blue spears of light formed in the air, each sparking with azure lightning as they remained motionless in mid air, held by some unknown force. The spears flowed through the air until they surrounded the iryo-nin, and then, with one swift movement, each one jerked forward and stabbed into Kusuna's pale flesh with a spray of crimson. He screamed out in agony as the lances pierced his body together, and his cries only intensified as they each discharged thousands upon thousands of volts of pure, unfiltered electricity into his system. Neji turned and raced off, knowing for sure that no matter how strong the shinobi might have been, none could survive such a relentless assault without power rivalling or even surpassing that of a Kage.

"Taruho!" he called into the trees. He had no need for stealth anymore. Kusuna had already been taken care of, and there was simply no chance, at least in his mind, that any of his comrades could lose to their opponents. All he could do now was hope that Taruho and Shion-sama had not gone on too far, and that Naruto-sama and the others would catch up sooner rather than later. A scream pervaded the uncomfortable silence of the trees, and his sandaled feet became little more than a blur as he raced through the forest. Perhaps he was wrong. That scream was unmistakeably Shion's, and while she had a tendency to complain about the most insignificant details, he doubted she'd have it in her to scream like that over something so trivial. Had one of the enemies broken through, and followed after the priestess and her guard? If so, why had he not seen them, even with his Byakugan?

"H-Help me... _Help! Hyuuga-san!" _He dropped to the ground as the cries became louder, and his pale eyes widened. The priestess knelt on the grassy undergrowth, her pale cheeks marred with angry red streaks as crystalline tears spilled from her amethyst eyes. Her slender hands and the sleeves of her jacket were stained crimson with blood, and her dropped shoulders and slouched position had the appearance of one who had given up. Then, he looked at the ground. Oddly enough, _another _Shion laid there, a perfect copy down to the slightest detail, barring the gaping, bloodied hole in her chest as the crimson lifeblood pooled around her dying body. "T-They... they..."

"Calm down," Neji said calmly and soothingly as he dropped to his knees before the girl and wiped away her tears, before settling his firm hands on her shoulders to prevent her from simply keeling over, as her swaying countenance threatened to do. To give the boy some credit, he was certainly hiding his confusion well behind the stoic, impassive expression that almost always covered his face. It wasn't totally natural, anyway. The emotionless facade was useful in situations such as these, as those who showed little to no emotion outwardly generally tended to be good listeners, which seemed appropriate when faced with this. "Tell me what happened."

"T-Taruho... after he took me away, he used a special technique taught to all who serve me... it's a permanent transformation jutsu to be used in the event of an attempt on my life or safety, to act as a decoy. Then... he... this..." Shion trailed off into silence, staring blankly at the identical body on the ground, its skin now deathly pale. It was Taruho, Neji realised absently. Theoretically, a permanent transformation would be possible through a constant flow of chakra to the technique, but it would be far too much of a drain on chakra reserves, and was simply too impractical to be of any use to a shinobi especially considering the difficulty in removing it, so it was never used in ninja society.

"Did you see who attacked him?" Shion didn't answer. Her body shook uncontrollably, and her eyes were wide and bloodshot. Neji sighed and rose to his feet. He wasn't going to get any more from her, and to make things worse the mastermind behind all had decided to play a more direct hand in the game. It stood to reason, with his followers likely either dead or incapacitated, that he would do so. If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself, after all. And so, brushing a hand through his long, dark hair, he held out the other to the priestess, who stared at it. Slowly, she took the hand and Neji pulled her gently to her feet, hoisting her onto his back in one movement. "I'm sorry, Shion-sama, but we have to keep moving." He vaguely felt her nose dig into his back as she nodded weakly, her face buried in his shoulder as her tears stained his robe. With an apologetic look in the direction of Taruho-turned-Shion, he leapt into the canopy, set on regrouping with the others before anything else could happen.

* * *

"Are you alright, Haku?" She didn't look up at Neji's concerned tone. Her amber eyes sparkled with something unknown in the fire's orange glow, and long tresses of snow white spilled over her slender legs as she hugged her knees to her chest. Though the awakening of her new powers of Envy left her impossibly powerful, she felt inexplicably vulnerable. Her body trembled without Naruto's presence and something in her ached for him in every aspect.

"Ugh, this mission is turning out to be more trouble than it's worth." She felt the earth unsettle itself as her beloved collapsed with a tired sigh, lounging back in the pleasant glow of the campfire. Her eyes drifted to him, and despite herself, she blushed. His sapphire eyes, despite the dark dullness brought on by his fatigue, seemed to glimmer in the light as he regarded her with one of _the _brightest smiles she'd seen perhaps in her whole life. His hair had lost some its lustre and shadowed his face with long bangs, shimmering with tiny crystalline drops of water as he ran his fingers through the golden locks. And, finally, his shirt was left open. No need to elaborate there. "Can't we leave the priestess here already and just go home?"

"Where _is _the priestess, anyway?" All eyes turned to her tent. The canvas structure was dark and silent, and had the priestess not remained within it since they'd set up camp in the first place, they might've thought she wasn't there at all.

Shikamaru groaned. "Guess what happened to Taruho is affecting her more than she'd like to let on." He laid back on the soft ground, arms crossed behind his head as he stared up at the starless sky. "Despite how she may treat her servants, the fact that they'd lay their lives down in her defence is a bit overwhelming even for her."

"You don't think that perhaps she simply cares more about her guards than she lets on?" Neji suggested, but looked down when Shikamaru shook his head.

"She's still a little hard-headed when it comes to the fact that those people who serve her are more than just that, and I'm not just saying that because we're not in her good books at the moment." Haku looked over to Shion's tent, and her eyes lowered. She couldn't say that Shion's pain made her anymore likable to the silver-haired Momochi, but she just seemed so pitiful. After all, if she'd lost someone close to her, she'd be bawling her eyes out for days, maybe weeks, not to mention the effect Naruto's death, were the real thing to come to pass, would have on her. Her heart ached and she drew her knees closer to her chest as she realised that that was what almost happened only a few hours prior. For the first time in God knows how long, she'd felt a _true _killing intent flood her body. It wasn't like the silly 'kill for the sake of killing' feeling that drove her on so many missions in the past, but a bloodlust that could not be quenched until the one who'd caused her such pain was brought to justice in the most painful way possible. "Are you sure you're okay, Haku?" Her head shook ever so slightly, and she edged away on the balls of her feet, sliding through the dirt as she retreated from the fire's warming light. She stopped, however, when a warm, muscular arm touched on her shoulder, and she looked up to the reassuring smile of her favourite blonde.

"It's fine." She didn't speak. A part of her wondered just how he knew what she was thinking, if he knew at all, but still she didn't speak. She shivered in delight as his hand traced the curve of her side and snaked around her waist, pulling her close. His warmth was unbearable in comparison to her own mercilessly iced skin, yet still she buried herself into him, her body moulding to his side as she pressed everything that was soft and supple and most certainly womanly against him. She'd promised herself nothing would happen on this mission, if only to preserve her friendship with Neru. After all, she had been waiting for the longest out of all of them, so it would only be fair. But at the same time she wished so much that she could simply forget Neru for a little while and beg Naruto for the comfort she so sorely needed. Neji and Shikamaru shared a conspiratorial look, and each rose to their feet.

"Well, it's late, and we'll be heading up to the shrine tomorrow morning, so we're gonna turn in for the night. Have fun, you too." Shikamaru and Neji disappeared to their own tents, and soon the silence hung thick and heavy around the tangled pair. Haku silently thanked the pair. At least they weren't anywhere near as dense as Naruto. She shifted slightly against his side, and he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes met with his, wide and almost imploring as they glowed with a soft golden light. She shifted ever so slightly, and in one fluid movement Naruto was leaning back and away from the silver-haired jounin, who had flipped subtly so that her legs fell on either side of his and her hands on his chest, sitting on his stomach. Naruto's mouth hung open in surprise as the slender girl drew closer to him until only a few inches separated them, her eyes wide and a pale pink blush colouring her ghostly pale cheeks, giving her a cute, childish appearance rather than the mature beauty she normally exhibited.

* * *

"H-Haku...?" He stuttered awkwardly as her eyes slowly drifted shut and she closed the small distance between them, pressing her blue-tinged lips to his and cutting off any argument he might have offered. Her natural cold sent an electric tingling through him as she pressed her body as close to his as was humanly possible. Then, she pulled away, her cheeks lit up with perhaps the brightest blush he'd ever seen and her breath heavy as she looked up at him with a look of bliss. "What are you..." he trailed off. Did he really need to ask that? Sure, Haku might not have been quite as forward as Neru, but even he wasn't so dense as to mistake _this. _He shivered slightly, each hair standing on end, as Haku's slender fingers pried his shirt from his shoulder, brushing her knuckles against his bare chest as she did. Was it right for him to just sit back as Haku did all this? A part of him answered negative, the dense nobility that had plagued him in his childhood and had seen fit to hang around 'til present day, but the far greater part _screamed _yes. It didn't take a genius to guess which part he agreed with. But where did he start? Despite Neru's advances, he was fairly new to this. Haku didn't appear to be giving him any quarter, though, tugging his headband from around his neck and moving southwards towards his waistband. He blushed lightly as her small hands worked with the orange leather belt, and decided to just _screw it. Literally._

His fingers fumbled with the tie of her obi as he felt the Haku's chill on his thighs, allowing the thick cloth to fall loosely without the knot to hold it, and slowly pried open her robe, finding that she didn't wear as many layers as it appeared. Haku's confidence evaporated visibly and her own hands began to slow and fumble as she worked on his clothes. She wasn't particularly self-conscious about her body - she was rather proud of her figure - but she couldn't help but blush and tremble at Naruto's appreciative gaze. His hand reached out and slipped the loose robe from her shoulders, allowing the heavy cloth to pool around her as his calloused fingers brushed against her bare skin, causing her to shiver in delight as the rough fingertips gently danced across her flesh. No, he thought with a small smile. There was no way she could ever pass as a boy, even with the snow white gauze he now saw, binding down her breasts. As if sensing his thoughts, Haku's hands retreated from Naruto's pants and reached behind to the knot of her bandages and pulled the thin tie free, letting the fabric fall and exposing the sensitive flesh of her bosom to the evening wind. Naruto couldn't help but grin ferally, running a hand up the smooth skin of her side until he met the small, soft mound of her breasts, his fingertips caressing the subtle curve with a tenderness that seemed almost alien, at least to him. He was in no way used to such compassion, but something about Haku made him feel as if he should be careful. As if she would shatter into thousands of pieces if he were too rough, so fragile did she seem then.

"Too slow..." Haku groaned quietly, and her slender fingers left his waist to grip his wrists tightly, forcing them to clutch at her chest as she blushed madly. Naruto smirked. She may have been acting as confident and eager as Neru, but she was still herself after all. His fingers flexed slowly, carefully massaging the creamy raised skin and eliciting a small, adorable moan from the girl atop him. "N-Naruto-kun..." She said shakily as she trembled slightly, though her fingers moved with incredible speeds. In an instant, he too was as bare as she was, the slight chill of the air as the evening progressed and the natural bite of Haku's skin causing his skin to raise.

Haku, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier. It had taken her three or four _years _to get this far, and now both she and her love were naked. _Together. _The feverish heat of his rapidly hardening member pressed flush against her stomach was a constant reminder of this. One hand slid up his firm muscles as she steadied herself to lean forward and meet his lips in a passionate kiss, while the other found his shaft and gripped it between her fingers, eliciting a deep, throaty moan. A flirtatious smirk blossomed upon her usually serene features as she pumped him slowly, though the seductive look she had been attempting was ruined somewhat by the deep shade of red that overwhelmed her pale colouring. She lowered her head, long silvery-white tresses sweeping over his thighs and leaving a delightful thrill in their wake, and stared at the throbbing organ before her. Now or never, she supposed, and reached out with a small, pink tongue to lightly graze the head in an ever so teasing manner. Naruto groaned. Smiling to herself, she tried again. Her teeth slowly scraped over the sensitive skin and down the length, enough for his crown to be enveloped in the unbearable heat of her mouth, before pulling back again.

"Damn..." Naruto uttered quietly. He wasn't one to wait for anything he wanted, but he was only just resisting the powerful urge to thrust into his lover's throat. Then, his wish was granted as Haku descended upon him, her lips surrounding his shaft with a unique warmth as she lowly slid along him, taking more and more of him into her mouth with each slow bob of her head. Slowly, she began to speed up, humming slightly as Naruto's member slipped in and out of her throat, and Naruto forced his hand away from the back of her head with a primal growl. He couldn't afford to be too harsh with the girl, not now. His sapphire eyes, flickering with the Kyuubi's angry scarlet, met with her wide golden ones, and he damn near lost it then and there. How could someone be so damned _cute _when doing something so _indecent? _He groaned slightly. He could feel his release fast approaching, and there was no prolonging it any further. Haku seemed to have noticed as well, as she retreated from him, releasing his shaft with a satisfyingly wet pop, returning only to give it a quick lick once more, before stretching out languidly. She noticed Naruto's _totally not pointed _stare at her bare nether region, and her lips twisted sultrily as she petted the bare skin just above the pink lips.

"R-Ready to go?" Haku cursed herself. However hard she tried, she couldn't keep the feeble shiver from her voice, even as she offered to her beloved the one gift she could give to no other. It didn't seem to matter to Naruto, however. If anything, he looked even more interested as he grinned. That was all the answer she needed. Her thighs rested on either side of his, she lifted her body up and positioned herself over his member, red and throbbing as she had continuously denied him the release he so desired, and slowly, hands on his shoulders for support, lowered herself onto him. A soft gasp escaped her reddened lips. He was... _bigger than she expected! _Had this been so when she was... no, she couldn't think about it. She'd only gotten this far because she hadn't been thinking. If she pondered too much, she'd lose what little nerve she'd built up, and descend into a useless mass of blushing teenage female. Naruto too was surprised as he pushed against Haku's lowering hips, marvelling at the tightness of her inner walls as they clamped down upon his shaft. And then, as each had begun to become used to the other, Naruto felt himself stop as he met the barrier he'd been dreading. "G-Go. Do it." Naruto looked up at her in surprise. Haku sounded almost demanding, though that bossy persona vanished instantly as her face twisted, bracing herself. He was in no way one to deny her, and pushed upwards. She bit back the sharp cry, settling instead for a pained hiss and a tight wince as her fingernails dug into his shoulders. He looked up at her in worry as the thin rivulet of crimson that spilled from her filled lower lips trickled onto his skin, but she shone through the pain with a bright smile.

"Are... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her voice was steady and even. Like he hadn't just taken her virginity. Like she was anywhere else, having just enjoyed a nice, relaxing cup of tea rather than getting hot and heavy with her destined one. Still, though the initial surprise had kept him silent for a few moments, her calm demeanour did nothing to allay his concerns. "Keep going... please." _There we go. _He couldn't, no matter how he tried, go against her wishes when she asked him so politely and with such an adorable look on her face as the pain subsided and was replaced with a pleasure the likes of which she'd never experienced. Experimentally, she shifted on his member, and a wave of bliss coursed through her body. This was what she'd dreamed of! Slowly she built up a rhythm, bouncing on her lover's crotch as he repeatedly stretched the limits of her insides, giving her a feeling of fullness like no other, and when he pulled out an emptiness that felt like some part of her had been ripped away, a part she simply couldn't live without.

"H...Hakuuu...!" Naruto groaned, and his sapphire eyes travelled up from her womanhood, lingering for a moment on her small breasts that bounced with each thrust, and finally rested on her face, his breath hitching in his throat. Deep in the throes of her passion, she was beautiful, but far from the sweet cuteness that she normally exhibited; her cheeks were red and flushed, her lips parted as her breath escaped in heavy, laboured gasps, her golden irisis swimming as her eyes glazed over in bliss, unfocused. Her hair was dishevelled as she writhed about atop him, moaning loudly as the mounting pleasure within her continued to rise at a fevered pace. Naruto moaned as well as her walls clamped down on his member tightly, and he resisted the urge to blow his load right then. "Haku-chan... I'm..."

"Do it!" She cried almost gleefully, grabbing at his hands and entwining her fingers with his. "Cum with me, Naruto-kun!" So much _moe! _Haku lowered her upper body and pressed her lips against Naruto's, tongues twisting and snaking about each other as Naruto pushed into her with all the strength he had left, and, as Haku's insides wrapped around him tighter than ever before, the two young lovers met their release together, with a combined moan of pleasure as each felt their orgasm run its course through their bodies. Haku's vision swam as she felt his seed shoot deep inside her, and her limbs gave out under her. Her naked, shivering body fell forwards onto Naruto's chest, her hands still clasped in Naruto's own, her last thoughts ones of pleasure and bliss as she fell into sweet unconsciousness.

_I beat you to it... Neru..._

* * *

**...Well... I really don't know what to say here. I am an absolute novice to lemons, and citrus in general in fact, so I was understandably apprehensive about writing something like that, but truth be told I'd been planning it since before the end of Naruto Estacado. Quite a while, in other words. If it's crap, it's crap. If it's good, then... hell, I don't know. But if you did enjoy it, or at least found it bearable, do tell me so. Your reviews are a serious source of motivation for me, and it may sound overused, but I truly **_**do **_**depend on them to keep writing. If I had no one to write for, what would be the point? But yeahs, on another note, this arc'll be over soon, as the shrine is within arm's reach, figuratively speaking, and the showdown I, and hopefully you, have been waiting for. After this is... Zombie Duo, I think. Or Chuunin Exams. Can't remember. But yeah, hope you enjoyed, and goodnight!**

**Next Time, on FSIR:  
****The action is nearing its close in Demon Country, but the battle is far from over. With Haku's new powerup the scales may have been temporarily tipped in the Konoha squad's favour, but the Sovereign isn't one to give up that easily. Dark power, sinister plots, old enemies and new allies await, and if Naruto plays his cards right he might just make it out alive. See it all, and more, next time! (Rolls credits, with Ragdoll Physics by Diablo Swing Orchestra)**


	6. Chapter 6: And They All Fall Down

**Chapter 6, And They All Fall Down**

"I thought you were in your tent?"

Shion looked up from the still, dark surface of the water and the ghostly pale reflection of the moon, to see Naruto emerge from the darkness of the trees, standing tall in an unbroken line like an army of nature. A soft blush painted her delicate features for a moment as she sighted his bare chest, but she crushed it brilliantly and turned away. He was her enemy. Falling for the enemy was a clichéd situation that would never affect someone of her stature.

"I thought the same of you."

"I don't sleep often. I like the night; it's calm, peaceful…"

"…dark?"

Naruto gave a quiet, awkward laugh. "Not what I had in mind, but yeah. It helps me think." Shion gave him a sceptical look.

"I had no idea a barbarian such as yourself _could _think."

"That was a little uncalled for," Naruto replied with a scowl. "Did I do something wrong? Something that could cause you to hate me? 'Cause I really don't understand this tension between us." Shion looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. Did he really have no idea what could have caused the enmity between them? Why she might not be so friendly with him?

"You're joking."

"No, really. I don't hate you, or even particularly dislike you as a person. I just think you need to get your head on straight. Treating someone's life, especially if that life has been willingly given up for you, like some tool for your survival is plain wrong, no matter how you look at it." Shion rose to her feet and stormed over to the blonde, raising a pale hand, only to strike it across Naruto's dumbstruck face.

"What would you know!" she hissed, amethyst eyes flickering between the dull confusion in Naruto's own and the angry red welt quickly rising on his cheek. "You don't know a thing about me! Not a damned thing! You don't know what it's like to be feared for something you can't get rid of no matter how hard you try, or hated for just telling the _truth!" _Hot tears had already begun to spill down her cheeks, marring her perfect skin with scarlet streaks.

"I know." Her hand rose to slap him again, but he stopped it with a gentle but firm grip on her slight wrist. He didn't expect the other hand to collide sharply with the opposite cheek. A pained hiss escaped his lips as he nursed the burning skin. "Should've seen that one coming…"

"Don't lie to me." Shion's voice was soft and low, her body trembling with a quiet anger she could only barely suppress beneath the calm façade she'd built up over the years. "Don't try and tell me you have even an inkling of what I've experienced…" Shion's voice began to trail off as her anger turned to confusion and, if she were honest, slight fear. Naruto's eyes were shadowed by the bangs that he'd allowed to fall over his eyes, and the grip on her wrist had tightened to the point where it caused her actual physical pain. She winced as Naruto's iron-like grasp dug into the soft flesh of her arm and tried to wriggle free, but to no avail.

"Y'know, I said I don't hate you, but you're fast approaching the point where my opinion changes." Naruto released her abruptly, and Shion's faulty balance caused her to tumble to the ground with a sharp cry. She shivered as Naruto towered over her, far more angry than she'd ever seen him. "It takes a special kind of idiot to assume that your life's been more difficult than anyone else's, especially when you know nothing about them. I won't try to explain what my life has been like, partly because I don't want to relive that part of my history and partly because I just don't think it'll get through that thick skull of yours." His eyes turned to Shion's, and the priestess gasped. For that moment, when her fearful gaze met Naruto's cold stare, she was bombarded with all the pain and suffering she'd denied existence in Naruto. His cheerful grin was gone, replaced with a merciless scowl. She could see, in the dim light of the moon, the countless scars that marred Naruto's tanned upper body, a horrid souvenir of his past life.

"Wh-What..." she stuttered weakly. What was she supposed to do? To say? She could tell, even with her severely limited knowledge of medicine, that a good majority of the wounds were old, far older than his shinobi career would allow for them to be simple battle wounds. That had to mean that such brutal treatment had occurred sometime during his childhood! But who would do that to a child!

"Taruho and everyone else who serves you would throw their lives down for you, and you treat them like trash. What kinda logic is that? You think that they care so much about your wellbeing that you can take it for granted like that? That makes no sense!" Despite the light, intimidating growl, Naruto held out a hand to Shion. She stared at it for a moment. He couldn't possibly be trying to help her, not after all this. For a moment she wondered if he might attack her, and she flinched at the thought, but he silently stood, offering to help her up. The priestess shakily took the hand of her guard, and rose to her feet with a quiet, quivering breath. She almost pitched forward into the blonde's chest at first as her legs struggled to support her weight, but Naruto's hands steadied her with a firm grip on her shoulders. "I know exactly how it feels to be feared and hated by everyone around you, and I know what that can do to you. Your lack of contact on a personal level can emotionally numb you, and you forget how to feel about other people. You forget that they are human beings just like you, with thoughts and feelings _just like you."_ Naruto stopped for a moment. "But I think you're more emotional than you'd like to admit."

Shion bit back a gasp. Did he know? Her entire body shook. Did he, this dense, battle-mad blonde idiot actually know how she'd felt? "Wh-What are you... I..." Shion could take no more. She threw herself forward and buried her face in Naruto's shoulder, her body racked with sobs as she cried openly into his collarbone. Naruto was surprised. He'd known, through idle observation, that she wasn't taking Taruho's death as easily as she made it seem, but he had never expected _this. _His arms circled Shion's shivering body awkwardly and held her against him as she cried. "T-Taruho..." she mumbled into Naruto's shoulder, but Naruto only held her tighter, and through her tears she smiled. Maybe he did care more about her than he let on, or at least was generally more compassionate. Either way, it was much appreciated. A soft blush lit up her cheeks as she buried them into his shoulder to hide her burning face. Perhaps falling for him wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

It hurt all over. Every muscle in his body rebelled against him, screaming in agony as he struggled to keep himself upright and mobile. One hand clutched at the burn on his side, rivulets of crimson slowly oozing out over his fingers, while the other pressed itself flat against the rough bark of the trees, helping him find his way in the night's darkness. If he could only reach that tiny speck of orange in the distance, on the very edges of his vision, he could rest. That would be where his teammates rested, where they waited for his return, if they even believed he was alive. To be completely honest, the only thing that reminded him that he was alive was the unbearable pain tearing at every inch of him.

A rush of wind tore through the ungodly silence above him, and he instinctively moved out of the path of a kunai as it buried its tapered tip in the bark mere inches away. A pained hiss escaped his pursed lips as his actions tugged and pulled at his injuries, but he couldn't rest. Not yet. Not while whoever attacked him was still there, and still alive.

"You're certainly persistent, aren't you?" That voice! His lone eye spied the brilliant white of his robes, standing out against the indomitable darkness around him, and the otherworldly gleam in his otherwise dull and lifeless white eyes. Hyuuga Neji stared down at him with disdain in his pale Byakugan eyes, a hand on his hip while the other remained outstretched from where he'd thrown the knife. "That move was supposed to kill you outright, you know. It's not very polite to stay alive after something like that."

"W-Well... haa... I'm sorry... ugh... to disappoint you..." he managed to force past his dry lips as he glared up at his assailant. This was the same person who'd put him in such a state, after all. With an almost silent scoff, Neji dropped down from his perch in the treetops to stand before the iryo-nin, his hand twitching towards the pouch on his hip as he prepared to strike a final blow.

"So why have you come here? Are you still going to continue your mission, even in such a sorry state?" His hand delved in the pouch proper, and he could see the muscles in his arm tense up as the Hyuuga's fingers closed around the hilt of another kunai. "Or are you here to beg me to finish you off? I wouldn't think any less of you, you know. It's perfectly natural to lose the desire to live when you look like that."

"Sh-Shut... agh!" he cried sharply as his legs, after a valiant struggle, finally gave out on him and he slumped to the ground against the tree. His chest heaved with laboured breaths, and his vision swam as he strived to keep his focus solely on the dark-haired jounin before him, who began to show a look of pity as he gazed upon the sorry excuse for a shinobi before him. He growled angrily. "Don't... don't look at me like that! I hate those eyes, those eyes that pi... pity me! If you're going to kill me, then _fucking get on with it!" _He howled in pain, and Neji hung his head. He pulled the kunai from his pouch and approached the fallen ninja with a grimace. Kusuna smirked weakly. From the day he became a ninja he'd always dreamed of dying in battle, where his life would at least be worth something to whoever he was working for at the time. But here, he was going to die a miserable waste of human flesh; bruised, bloodied, broken, and above all, useless. His body slumped in defeat as the Hyuuga came within a foot of him, and brought the metal spike down in a vicious arc. And with that and a flash of pain, Kusuna's entire world was consumed in blackness.

"Don't be so dramatic, will you? I hit you with the blunt end, and I know you're awake." His eyes creaked open, and with a grunt he pulled himself into a seated position. That speck of orange light was now only a few feet from where he laid, a crackling campfire if his blurred vision told him anything. His fingers tentatively reached for his wounds, only to find them treated and bandaged. A hand rushed to his temple as a wave of pain coursed through his skull, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he fought through the migraine. Neji gave an almost amused hum. "Ah, sorry about that. Those pills have a rather irritating side-effect, as I'm sure you're now aware, but it's better than dying I guess. You'll be fine soon enough, though. Haku's a wonderful medic-nin herself, once we managed to wake her." The headache slowly began to ebb away, and he collapsed back onto the sleeping bag underneath him, still clutching at his forehead.

"Forgive me if I don't understand exactly what's going on. Why the hell'd you spare me? Why'd you bring me here, and heal my injuries?" Neji stopped his frantic questioning with a raised, empty palm, silencing the rogue ninja, and pointed to something behind him. Kusuna turned his head, and was greeted by the sight of the blonde, Naruto, standing at the edge of the campfire's light with the priestess Shion, his former target, in his arms. For a minute, due to her complete stillness he thought she was lying dead in his hold, but the soft rise and fall of her chest told him that she was, in fact, sleeping. Neji's eyebrow quirked as he sighted the girl's limp body in the genin's embrace, as the blonde moved to place her in her tent.

"Don't look at me like that," Naruto said at Neji's amused expression when he emerged from the tent. "She fell asleep while we were talking. I didn't do a thing."

"I'm sure. I have someone who would like speak with you." He gestured toward Kusuna, who shot bolt upright and instantly regretted it as he clutched at the wound on his side. Still, he grunted through the pain and shot a glare at the Hyuuga.

"The hell're you talking 'bout, bright-eyes? I don't want anything to do with him, or any of you people for that matter! You're the enemy!" Naruto gave a tired sigh and dropped to the ground by the fire, taking a seat in its glow as he leant back leisurely. He ran his fingers through his hair and massaged his furrowed brow, before levelling a stare upon the recuperating iryo-nin.

"'Enemy' is subjective. The word's meaning changes every few moment, so whoever's your enemy now could be your best friend in ten seconds' time. If you're still planning on serving who you're serving, then yeah, we'll still be enemies. But if you do the smart thing and switch sides, then boy, you've got yourself a helluva deal." Kusuna's eyes travelled downwards, hiding from the blonde's judging gaze, as he thought. Only hours before, after Neji's power had left him broken, he'd watched as the hulking figure of his master, the Sovereign, had strolled casually through the forest without a care, wiping something red from his sleeve. He'd tried to call out to him, but the man, if he could be called such, had simply passed him by as if he were not there at all. Did he really want to serve a man who treated his subordinates that way? Of course, he also had to take into account just how powerful the man was, the very thing that had drafted the four of them into his service in the first place. If he were to turn against someone like that, there would be no telling what he would do to him.

"I don't..." Kusuna started hesitantly. What should he choose? It was between overwhelming power and overwhelming power, and whichever he decided to side with would assure that the other would try to kill him. Naruto sighed and collapsed backwards on the soft, loamy soil, arms crossed behind his head as he stared up at the star-speckled canvas of night.

"Don't sweat it too much. I don't expect you to make a decision right now. Hell, even as thick-skulled as I am, I'd take a little while to think over my options with this one. No doubt your master is powerful and frightening if he's got you following him like little lambs while at the same time wanting out of his control." Naruto closed his eyes against the light of the stars and smiled serenely. "Tell you what, once you're healed up enough to be moved, you and I'll go get those friends of yours. Neji, you'll be alright leading Shikamaru, Haku and Shion on to the shrine, won't you?" Neji frowned.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I understand you take pride in our abilities, but if this individual is as strong as you believe then there is simply no way we could even begin to combat him on a level playing field. We'll be massacred."

"Don't worry so much," Naruto assured him with a light chuckle that seemed out of place in the serious situation. "This guy wants me, right? If he's any kind of smart, he'll keep you guys alive to use you as bait. You'll be perfectly fine just as long as you don't rile him up too much."

"I'm so glad that I'm playing your _bait _now, but just think for a second. You're going to head for the shrine once you've picked up those rogue ninja anyway, regardless of what we do. So if you're going to waltz right up to the man's front door anyway, why in blue blazes would he need bait of any kind?"

"...First rule of the Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado Club: don't question me."

"That is a ridiculously long name. Can't we make it an acronym or something? How about N.U.N.E Club?"

"No. I'm leaving."

* * *

With a loud yawn, Shion awoke. Her amethyst eyes squinted against the bright sunlight, she rose from her sleeping bag and stretched out her limbs languidly. She could honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that she hadn't slept so soundly in a good while. Understandable, she thought, considered how she'd cried out her troubles with Naruto the night before... Shion shot up like a firework. Naruto! She had to find him, to apologise for all she'd said and done! She practically tore the flap of the tent open and rushed out, shielding her eyes from the blinding light, and when they adjusted noticed that it was not Naruto stood outside preparing breakfast for the group, but rather the Hyuuga bishounen, Neji.

"Good morning," he greeted casually, looking up from the bowl of fruits he'd obviously spent the wee hours of the morning gathering. Shion couldn't help but shiver. Something about those white Byakugan eyes, despite the warm expression around them, made her feel all cold inside. They looked so _soulless. _"Did you sleep well?"

"Where's Naruto?" She inquired abruptly, ignoring his greeting completely. Neji appeared to be taken aback for a moment, and rightly so. After all, prior to last night, the two had most definitely _not _been on the best of terms. Still, being his professional Hyuuga self, Neji took it all in stride and smiled politely, and unless she was mistaken, a little apologetically.

"He left early this morning, not wanting to wake any of us up. He has some business to attend to in the area, so we'll be continuing with the next leg of our mission without him. He did tell me that he would meet with us at the shrine, however." The priestess couldn't hold back the crestfallen look that spread over her delicate features. Neji's smile seemed to widen, and he turned back to his breakfast. "You're genuinely worried, I see. That's a good sign. You two kissed and made up, then."

"K-K-Kissed!" Shion screeched far too loudly, her cheeks blossoming with burning colour as her embarrassment made itself known. "Th-That's preposterous! W-Why on earth would I want to kiss _him!" _Neji's eyebrow arched ever so subtly at the vehement denial.

"Is that so? My apologies, then. It's just... there seem to be so many females vying for that irritating boy's affections that I get in the habit of thinking every girl we meet is out to jump his bones." Shion grumbled quietly and took a seat next to the jounin, grabbing an apple from his bowl and taking an unnecessarily large bite. They sat in silence for a few moments, only the sounds of birds in the surrounding forest and of Shion's chewing to be heard, until Neji spoke once again. "We'll wait here until Shikamaru and Haku wake up – that is, if they ever _do _decide to wake up. They both value their sleep very much. After that, we'll pack up camp and move out to the shrine. It's not too far now, so we should be there by nightfall, at least." As if in response, the pair heard rustling from a small distance, and both Haku and Shikamaru emerged from their tents, the latter smiling brightly as she took a seat at Neji's side, while Shikamaru merely scratched the back of his head with an annoyed look upon his sharp features.

"Y'know, it's not nice to scream so early in the morning," the Nara began, directing his irritated stare at Shion. "I heard the plan, so let's hurry up already. I wanna get back to the village already."

* * *

A few hours had passed. The sky, despite it only being early afternoon, had grown dark, with thick clouds obscuring the sun from view. With a light thud, the trio of shinobi and their charge touched down upon the small stone courtyard that lead up to the shrine's entrance. Apart from the rumble of thunder in the stormclouds above, the area was entirely silent. With a light grunt Haku let Shion down from her back, and the priestess patted down her clothes to smooth out the creases. Neji's eyes scanned the surroundings, veins bulging around his eyes to show the activation of his Byakugan.

"I don't like this," he started, closing his eyes with a quiet sigh. "Something's interfering with my Byakugan, some kind of natural chakra that's saturating the air, and making it difficult to pinpoint anything. It's like trying to see through soup. And on top of that, it's so quiet... I have a horrible feeling about this."

"You just had to go and say it, didn't you," Shikamaru groaned, and pulled his knives from his belt. "Haku, stay behind us, and keep a close eye on the priestess. There's no telling what could happen, now that we've entered our enemy's territory."

"C-Can't we just wait here?" Shion asked shakily, shivering visibly. A malevolent aura seemed to fill the very air and press down on her like solid stone, filling her with dread. "I-I mean, it'd be safer to just wait out here for a little bit, at least until Naruto returns, right? Then we can go in with greater numbers, and have a better chance of surviving... whatever it is that's in there."

"I'm afraid that isn't an option," Neji replied firmly. "If we don't go inside and face our foe, then there's a likelihood he'll come out to face us. At least if we go inside, we can be ready for it." He placed a firm hand on Shion's shoulder. "I understand that you're afraid, and with good reason, but remember that we are here to protect you. Naruto may be incredibly strong in his own right, but all of us were not made jounin without reason." Neji's words didn't serve to settle her any, yet she nodded uneasily regardless, and he turned to the fore, his white eyes narrowed in a sharp glare, fixated upon the shadowed, gaping maw of the shrine entrance, and in a flash of azure lightning, his shields were manifested upon his arms, lending him an impressive and intimidating countenance. "All of you, stay behind me," he ordered, his muscles tensing as he readied for battle. "And keep quiet."

And with that, they entered into the darkness of the cave, blinking slowly as their eyes adjusted to the low-light conditions of the mountain's interior. The chamber they found themselves in was, quite simply, enormous. Its roof could not be seen, so its walls seemed to stretch on into an endless void that hung above them ominously. Their footsteps, despite their efforts to keep silent, echoed horribly against the stone walls and returned full force, surrounding them with a veritable cacophony of thuds as rubber connected with stone, unnerving them even further.

"Priestess," Neji whispered, and the blonde jumped in a mixture of surprise and fright, yet he continued. "Are you absolutely sure that this is the right place? There doesn't seem to be much of... well, _anything_ here."

"Oh, you're in the right place, boy," a rich, deep, and commanding voice made itself known, tearing through the eerie silence like a herd of rampaging bulls. The cave lit up a violent red as fire leapt from the ground, revealing a series of thick magma rivers that coursed through the middle of the shrine floor in some unseen pattern, and there, in its centre, a single figure sat upon a wide throne. The individual was large, but not overweight, as his muscle-bound arms strained against the confines of his pristine white suit's straight sleeves, and he rested his white-bearded chin in the palm of a large, bear-like hand. His features looked as if they were chiselled from stone, set in a strange amalgamation of amusement and deep-seated hatred, and from this cold expression stared two black, soulless eyes, like deep pits in his skull that led on to infinity. "But the _right _place isn't necessarily the _best _place. The one I want is not among you."

"He'll be here momentarily, but I'd rather finish this up before we're forced to involve him," Neji answered, his own features set in a scowl as he watched the man warily.

"So you wish to claim the glory for yourself, do you?" he questioned with a hollow laugh, baring his bone white teeth in a crazed grin. "Such _pride _will be your undoing someday, _boy. _Whether or not that day is today... that much is up to you. If you fight this unnecessary battle, you will certainly lose. If you choose to simply walk away, you will be spared. At least... for now. I will be gracious enough to allow this." A low growl sounded from Neji's throat like the low rumble of an engine.

"Is that what you call being gracious...? Giving us the choice to live as cowards, abandoning our closest friends at the first sign of adversity, or die as comrades, fighting a battle to which there is no hope of victory?" His fingers clenched into fists, and he hissed in pain as his nails dug into his palms. "That's absurd! How could you honestly believe we'd go along with something like that! If we fight here, we're going to win, no questions asked! Because not only are we proud shinobi of Konoha, but we, all of us, are close friends of Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado Naruto! Even if I am alone in my feelings, I, Hyuuga Neji of the noble Hyuuga Clan and bearer of the sin of Pride, will gladly lay down my life for him!"

"An inspiring speech, and one which would surely strike a chord in my quarry's heart, were he here to hear it. But I'm afraid that it is all for naught, because you are going to lose that life that you will so _proudly _give for your friend, here and now." Without a sound or any kind of warning, a spear of what appeared to be some kind of black liquid lanced skyward from the ground beneath their feet, and only a reflexive move on the Hyuuga's part saved him from impending impalement, as he raised a shield to block the attack before it gored him. "You are faster than I had anticipated," the Sovereign allowed, having yet to move from his throne. "Perhaps you too harbour a fragment of the Darkness' power...?"

"What does it matter where my power comes from? All that matters is that it is my power that will end you!" Neji lunged forward, heedless of the barked warning from Shikamaru and the worried cry of Haku, both remaining behind to protect the priestess despite seeing that there was no longer any point to such actions. Arcs of electric blue danced across the gleaming edge of his right shield as he swung it to his fore, falling mere inches short of the look of disinterest upon the Sovereign's face as more of the black liquid burst from the ground without a sound, wrapping around his ankle like a thick rope and whipping him backwards, before releasing him to sail limply through the air. His body fell to the earth with a resounding thud, and Haku rushed forward to assess his injuries while Shikamaru stepped in front of the pair, raising his knives defensively.

"So you would fight me as well? What do you have to gain from such futile resistance, bearers of Sloth and Envy?" Shikamaru grunted in response, and his stance shifted slightly, becoming more leisurely and laidback, yet no less prepared for battle.

"Honestly?" he began, eyeing the Sovereign with a wary gaze. "Not a whole lot. This is bound to hurt like hell in the morning, but it's a small price to pay to make sure that an asshole like you doesn't get your way. I might not be as... _enthusiastic _as Neji, but I feel the same way nonetheless. I won't let you hurt my friends."

"Then you're as much a fool as he, and will die with him." With a harsh static buzz, countless of the black spears erupted from the earth, lancing toward the Nara, who merely smirked in the face of such overwhelming odds, and slowly closed his eyes. "_What!" _The Sovereign roared, as the spears pierced only the air, their target nowhere to be seen. And then, in an instant, each of them were ripped in two, bursting into a shower of black rain as thin, clean cuts appeared halfway along the length of each pike. Instinctively, the Sovereign's head tilted to the side, just in time to avoid a trench knife that embedded itself into the back of his chair, mere millimetres from a fatal wound. He swept through the air with his bear-like hand, and struck true as his knuckles collided with a fleshy substance that was invisible to his eyes, only revealing itself in a blur as it hurtled to the side on the back of his fist. Shikamaru's rolled along the ground, falling dangerously close to a lava pit, and slowly rose to his feet, clutching at his side.

"D-Dammit..." he groaned, doubling over with both pain and nausea. "You're stronger than you look, old man... You been working out, or something?"

"You, human, could not even _begin _to comprehend my abilities. They are above your very plane of awareness!" A crackling sound found his eardrums, and he turned to meet Neji's incoming shield with a forearm, blocking the lightning-clad disc while throwing the other arm forward to slam his fist into Neji's stomach. The Hyuuga retched heavily, until the Sovereign gripped his smaller body and tossed him away like common trash. "You simply do not understand how grave your situation is, do you? By engaging one such as me in combat, even if it _is _two on one, you have condemned both your own lives and the lives of your two female companions to an eternity of pain and suffering. I'll keep you alive long enough for my true target to arrive, and then you will all die together!"

"Is that right?" All eyes, including the three combatants, turned to the cave's entrance, where five figures stood silhouetted against the dim light of the stormy outside. Naruto grinned, baring his bright white teeth against the harsh red light of the magma below, resting his sword upon his shoulder as he stared down the Sovereign. "So you're the one who's been chasing after me all this time?"

"That would be correct, Darkness," the elderly man replied, his eyes now focused solely on the individual he'd been searching for so long. His hands twitched as he longed to wrap them around the neck of the one who now bore his mortal enemy as his own, but he restrained himself. This would be a glorious affair, where he would enact his ultimate revenge and begin his march to conquer the world once more in one fell swoop.

"Well, I'm here now, so... whaddaya want?" Naruto asked bluntly, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared lazily at the trembling form of the old man. The Sovereign's body shook in his throne, his limbs curling in on themselves. Everyone present shivered involuntarily as a cold air seemed to permeate the shrine, its icy chill dancing across their skin and raising goosebumps in its wake. The air felt thick and heavy, and each of their visions became hazy and blurry, like peering through soup.

"Hmhmhmhm..." Naruto's eyebrow arched, and the blonde all but leapt back when the Sovereign's head shot backwards with a raucous, cackling laugh. "Hmhmhm... HAHAHAHAHAAAA!" He lowered his empty, black gaze to meet with Naruto's confused, and slightly frightened, sapphire blue, and grinned maniacally. "Such a naive, _simple _boy is my opponent! My, how the fates are cruel to one such as I, who has awaited this day with bated breath for many a millennia! Has your benefactor, the source of the power you wield with such impunity, not told you anything of what you might be subject to, being the bearer of its unholy power! Did the abomination not tell you anything of the foes that would seek your head just for being the host of that... that _thing!"_

"W...What are you talking about...?" Naruto began slowly, considerably taken aback by the Sovereign's sudden outburst. He unclipped Pestilence from its holster on his belt and slowly pulled it free from the orange leather sheath, subtly hiding it behind his thigh as he turned his body slightly. Whatever this guy's problem was, the blonde knew enough that he was after his life, or rather, the Darkness'. If that was the case, he would have no qualms about fighting to protect himself, and those close to him. That is not to say that he thought of the Darkness as a friend, or anything close, but if a fight were to break out here then there was a very real chance that the others would be dragged into it.

"I am only one of those countless fallen enemies who wish for a chance to rise again and take back upon this earth as its ruler! Thousands upon thousands of years before the likes of you and your feckless band of unruly children were even conceived, I ruled this world with an iron fist, until the creature you now play landlord for brutally slaughtered both my family and I, and sent us hurtling into the harsh, unforgiving abyss that is _Hell."_

Naruto scoffed. "Psh, Hell ain't so bad. I got a few friends out there."

"Silence! You know nothing of Hell, infant! You know only the Otherworld, the physical manifestation of the Darkness inner being, its 'heart', if you will. That dreary warzone pales in comparison to what I have experienced in pursuit of my revenge. And now, thanks to the witless Angels that have plagued the Darkness since its conception, I return to this plane to enact my revenge upon the Darkness and, by proxy, you. So you see, it's nothing personal."

"Oh, _it's nothing personal," _Naruto repeated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "That makes me feel so much better about this. As if punching a hole through an old man's head wasn't hard enough for me to do."

"_Old man?" _the Sovereign question, his eyes narrowing to pitch black slits. "I assure you, that while I have lived for an age more than any before or after me, and my appearance is that of a human elder, I harbour no such fragility. I will have no trouble in crushing you into dust, chi-" he stopped mid-sentence as the resounding crack of gunpowder echoed in the sudden silence, followed by the crunch of crumbling stone. The Sovereign's head slammed into the back of his throne from the force of the blow, his eyes wide and unblinking as he gaped wordlessly. The shot Naruto had fired had pierced his forehead dead centre, forcing the skin apart in thin, spiderweb cracks, as if his flesh were nothing but rock.

"Well, that's interesting..." Naruto began, frowning in irritation as he assessed the damage along Pestilence's barrel. "...And annoying."

"This is but one small part of what I have endured to see my vengeance brought to life. In return for setting me free from the Circles of Hell, the Angel bound my soul to stone statues, through which I can exercise my power over the corporeal realm. Of course, that did me little good locked up in a shrine, thanks to you humans, but I digress. In short, I will not be defeated as easily as one of you mortal fleshbags." As if in response to his words, tendrils of pure black seeped through the rough earth and into the air, where they swayed rhythmically as if in some sort of trance.

"I can do that too, you know," Naruto said, as the Darkness manifested from his spine once more, complete with its new spiked bone armour that clinked as the plates, as dense as steel yet light as a feather, touched against each other. The Sovereign noticed this with an interested quirk of his eyebrow, but other than that his expression remained as stony as ever. The tendrils, as one, lanced toward the blonde with a harsh static buzz, only to be cleaved in two by a hastily drawn sword from the blonde's back, its leather-wrapped handle gripped loosely between his fingers as he swept it through the air. The tentacles burst into oil black liquid like before, leaving Naruto to leap over them as he moved toward his foe. He returned his sword and gun to their respective sheaths and drew the Darkness Guns, feeling them hum with inhuman power as he allowed his energy to flow into their handles. And so, with a mighty leap, he soared over the Sovereign's head, who did nothing but look up in the face of such an attack, and let loose a barrage upon his hairless scalp. His guns pulsed with the roar of thunder and flashed with lightning as his fingers trembled on the triggers, repeatedly unleashing their deadly payload unto their enemy in a shockwave that very nearly sent both Neji's team and the Gang of Four off their feet.

"Is that all you can muster, young one?" The rich tone of the Sovereign echoed when the dust had cleared, showing little more than a crack in his cranium. Had his attack really done so little damage to him? He may have been made of stone, but _come on! _"Very well then. I must say, I had expected more, but I suppose I cannot hope for too much from one so small. I believe it is _my turn."_ He rose from his throne for the first time since the fight began and stepped towards Naruto as he caught his breath, and pulled him to his feet, before plunging a fist into his stomach. The boy retched, and a spatter of blood hit the stone ground, but he didn't move an inch.

"Naruto!" Haku screamed, and tried to move forward to help him, only for an invisible wall of pure power to slam into every inch of her and force her backwards, throwing her off her feet entirely with its sheer physical strength.

"I will not allow you halfwits to interfere! You have done well in bringing my quarry to me, so savour your last few moments of living! Do not deny that which I have craved for so _long!" _He punctuated the last word by rearing back his fist to deliver another bone-shattering punch to the blonde's already bruised and batter body, but what he met was not flesh, but cold steel. The blonde pushed against the flat of his sword, managing to actually force away the Sovereign's incredible strength, a testament to the boy's own skill. "So you have some fight left in you, do you? Then I shall have to remove it!" He pushed against the boy's sword, but stopped, as Naruto peered over the edge of his blade, his eyes glowing a foul yellow hue and narrowed in a dangerous glare. But it was not that which made him start, but the crazed grin that twisted his lips unnaturally.

"**It's been so long..." **He rasped in a voice that was not his, but both the Sovereign and his teammates recognised the deep, hoarse, inhuman tone. **"It's been so long since I've had someone to play with... Tell me, Mister Sovereign... would you kindly **_**play with me?" **_In a burst of power the Sovereign was gone, thrown clear across the cavern by the might of the being that until now slumbered quietly within the blonde's soul, and the old man's stone body collided with the mall in an explosion of rubble and dust. Naruto twirled the sword around by the red ribbon hanging from its hilt, its blade a blur as it spun, and in an abrupt movement threw the weapon directly at where his foe had landed. It speared into the rock wall mere inches from Sovereign's cheek, the vibrations of the collision causing it to hum slightly. Sovereign turned to look at the blade for a moment – a grave mistake, as in that instant Naruto was upon him, his fingers gripping his earthy features so hard he heard them crack under the pressure, and slammed his skull back into the wall, before raising his gun and firing off a blinding yellow blast directly into the man's empty right eye. The ensuing explosion rocked the cavern, forcing several rocks from their places above them to come crashing down and shatter into rubble upon impact. And then, when the dust settled, there was silence.

"Hmhmhm..." Naruto's glowing yellow eyes remained fixed upon the Sovereign's fallen form as he slowly and warily backed away, hand never leaving his gun. "Hmhmhmhm... **HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" **The Sovereign stood, his body crumbling away even as he did so, and set his sights upon the blonde, grinning like a madman. His voice was twisted and distorted as the Darkness' unholy power flowed through him as well. **"You're making this interesting, I see! I won't have to hold anything back then! I will destroy you, and everything you hold dear... EVEN IF IT COSTS ME MY LIFE!" **His body erupted with the same black liquid, flowing out of him in a relentless torrent of darkness that began to coat the very ground beneath their feet, rising up until it form into a long, thick tubular structure, swaying just as the smaller ones had. Atop it sat a reptilian head, its jaws opening and closing with a low, bestial growl, and both its eyes and throat glowed with the same yellow light. Beside it danced a pair of equally long and thick tentacles, much like Naruto's Demon Arms.

"**A freakin' dragon... you just gotta make my life difficult, doncha?" **Naruto complained, as he holstered his gun and sheathed his sword. **"Something that big... it'd be a shame not to let them have a little fun on this side. Sorry it's been so long!" **He bit down on the flesh of his thumb and forced his fingers to dance between each other in a series of complex handseals, before forcing his bloodied right hand into the earth beneath him, watching as seals began to branch out across the shattered earth from his flattened palm. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **All present blinked in surprise as thick plumes of black smoke erupted from Naruto's position, casting the cavern into an even deeper darkness as it clung to the form of the great beast. Naruto, thick black veins crawling across his skin as he drew upon more of the unnatural energy stored within him, grinned savagely. **"Hekatonkheire!" **

"**Idiot boy!" **Sovereign, in his draconic form, roared as he watched Naruto prepare his technique. **"No amount of human power can save you! Not even the mighty Darkness can help you no- rrrgh!" **Naruto's grin only widened as Sovereign struggled in vain to remove the vice-like grip of the enormous, black, thick-skinned hand closed around its jaw. The hand's beefy fingers clenched upon his snout, eliciting a pained shriek from the serpent as it redoubled its efforts to free itself. Three more of the hands, easily large enough to hold all those present – sans the Sovereign, of course – with room to spare, clamped down upon the tentacles that swayed on either side, restricting their movements, and another four wrapped around the main creature's neck, holding it in place. And finally, a twelfth hand rose from the ground at Naruto's side, allowing him to step onto its wide, leathery palm and be lifted up to Sovereign's eye level.

"**This is neither the power of humans or that of the Darkness, at least not directly," **he spoke knowledgeably, his arms crossed over his chest. **"This is but one of the countless summons that heeds my beck and call! The giant who wields a hundred hands , Hekatonkheire!" **He stepped back quickly, and smirked darkly as the same vile yellow light that shone in his eyes gathered in his bandaged right palm, coalescing into a small, fist-sized sphere that quickly grew until it dwarfed Naruto himself altogether yet still hovered mere inches from his hand, threatening to tear his very flesh apart with the incredible power it possessed, caught within its endless rotation. **"I hate to cut this short, big guy, but you weren't that much fun. **_**Oodama Kiiroi Rasengan!" **_With a primal roar Naruto leapt forward and thrust the sphere of spiralling chakra and Darkness energy into Sovereign's gleaming maw, its compressed power tearing at his form with an unearthly howl. Its snout was shredded in moments, not even a drop of the strange black liquid left to show it had ever existed, and still Naruto's technique continued until the beast itself was little more than a speck of black, its form destroyed entirely.

"**Hmph... ho**w boring," he complained, his voice returning to normal as the Darkness receded into the recesses of his soul.

* * *

"Well, I guess this is it," the blonde said almost reluctantly as he slung his backpack over his shoulder, grinning. It had been a particularly silent trip back to the temple: Naruto didn't want to waste any more energy than he already had, the Gang of Four were each terrified of the blonde and didn't want to say a word lest he turned the same wrath he showed against the Sovereign on them, Neji was watching said gang warily, as if he thought they might try something – they had been enemies up until a few minutes prior. Haku was quite content with watching her lover's back, with no small amount of worry present in her golden eyes, and Shion too watched Naruto as he sped through the trees, as if trying to figure something out about him.

"We've wasted a lot of time here... we'll have to double time it if we want to get back to the village before nightfall so that we can turn in our report as soon as we arrive," Neji stated, his eyes scanning the horizon. All present groaned.

"Neji, stop that crazy talk right now. We are going back at a _leisurely _pace, and I will hear no arguments otherwise." The group laughed, but Shion stepped forward, looking up at Naruto with a sad smile as tears appeared to well up in her eyes.

"Do you have to leave today?" she pleaded, her head tilted to the side cutely. "I-I mean, you could always stay the night here, and head out tomorrow when you're well rested. It's the least we could do to repay you for all you've done for us." Naruto smiled sheepishly, as he scratched the back of his head.

"I don't actually remember doing a whole lot for you... besides the whole emotional counselling thing..." Naruto trailed off at the pointed stare he received from the priestess.

"Not quite," Shikamaru piped up, yawning tiredly. "The fact that you're still here is proof enough of that. You were _supposed _to die in that fight back there, but you didn't, so you've effectively proved Shion's premonitions incorrect. Sure, this is the first time it's happened, but now that it's been proved that the priestess' visions aren't so infallible as everyone thinks, they might just stop hearing every word that comes out of her mouth as gospel truth. You've given her some measure of freedom, however small."

"But that doesn't mean I'm free of my duties," the blonde herself countered. "Demon Country doesn't have a daimyou like other, larger countries, so the priestess of the period takes on the duties of a feudal lord and essentially runs the country. I'm kind of like the queen of Demon Country now, and when I die my position and power will go to the next in line, most likely one of my children. I'll need to find someone to marry so that I can create the next generation of priestesses..."

"NO!" Everyone looked at Haku, her golden eyes gleaming as she sent a heated glare at the priestess. She'd _quite _clearly noticed the pointed look she'd given Naruto with those last few words, and had quite simply had enough. "I get that the guy's a playboy and all, but _come on! _This is getting ridiculous!" Naruto's gaze travelled back to the blonde priestess, whose cheeks had erupted in a bright crimson blush.

"I-I guess it's not quite so easy... I'm sorry if I offended anyone..." She flinched as Naruto's finger touched her chin and pulled her attention back to the fore, where he smirked charmingly mere inches from her face.

"If you ever find yourself in Konoha, be sure to look me up, 'kay?" He asked, baring his teeth in a feral grin, to which Shion could only blush harder and nod slowly, as if she didn't trust herself with words. And with that, he turned, and joined by his teammates and the Gang of Four, began the long trek back to Konoha. "On the road again~..." he said in a quiet, sing-song voice as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"Uhh... Naruto-sama? If you don't mind me asking, why exactly are these four following us?" Neji asked, gesturing subtly toward the four rogue ninja who were still refraining from speaking.

"They're my new subordinates, so it's only natural that they come live with me... or at least in Konoha. What with Neru there my apartment's not really big enough."

"And you're sure we can trust them?"

"Have I ever led you astray?"

"Well..."

* * *

Several hours had passed since Shion had seen off the Konoha-nin with tears in her eyes, waving emphatically at their turned backs. Now, however, she sat in her quarters, dressed in a thankfully less restricting kimono which she realised would be a sort of uniform for her official duties as de facto daimyou, and try as she might she simply could not remove the smile from her lips. She was acting like a giddy little schoolgirl with a crush on her handsome classmate. Still, she'd never really been close enough to any boy, either in an emotional sense or a physical one, to foster any romantic feelings for them, so this _was _her first crush. It would certainly explain why she'd leapt so quickly from simply tolerating him to practically adoring him. But now he was gone, back to his home, and it was doubtful if they would ever meet again. Still, she could not allow that to affect her in her duties, and so turned to the papers set out on the low desk that had been placed before her.

"Shion-sama," an attendant spoke out, making their presence known on the edge of the room as they stepped into the light and gently placed a small, white envelope upon the table's surface. "We have a letter for you, from Konoha." Her head snapped upwards, and her eyes were wide with hope. Already? She snatched up the letter and practically tore open the wrapping, hastily unfolding the paper within to scan its contents with a scrutinising eye. And then, as she reached the end within moments of beginning, a grin began to tug at her cheeks, not unlike the one _he _sported. It seems her wish would come true sooner than she had ever expected.

* * *

**Whew, I'm glad I finally got this chapter out. I can't spend much more time with the laptop overheating on my thighs, not with the current weather where I'm living. It's taken a while to get it written, but after last chapter I wasn't entirely sure where to go. Still, the Demon Country Arc has now come to a close, and I'm gonna take a short break so I can get the next arc all mapped out, then I'll be back with a vengeance for all you fans, if you're still out there, that is. I've also been watching a Let's Play of The Darkness II, since I'm currently in the process of looking for a job, so I've been so broke I can't get the game for myself, but I can work with what I've seen to quite considerably alter an arc I had planned to hopefully make it more enjoyable for all you readers. Other than that, all I have to say is goodnight!**

**Next Time on FSIR:  
****Another mission under their belts, these four members of the Seven Sins return to Konoha for a little rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, for at least one of them that's not what they'll receive. Foreign foes, jealous girlfriends, and an old grudge; see all this and more next time! (rolls credits with Oshare Banchou by Orange Range)**


	7. Chapter 7: Cirque du Freak

**Chapter 7, Cirque du Freak**

Long shadows danced up the walls of the office, twisted silhouettes thrown by the light of the single, solitary candle set upon the cluttered desk. With a satisfied gulp, the buxom blonde threw back her head, twin ponytails swaying wildly as she swallowed down another tumbler of bitter, burning sake. So enamoured was she with the glorious liquor flowing down her throat that while she may have noticed the distinctive sound of the window sliding open and wooden geta touching down on its frame, she paid it no mind.

"I bet Sarutobi-sensei's rolling in his grave right now," the newcomer joked half-heartedly, the worry clear in his tone. "Entrusting the coveted title of Hokage to a lazy old drunkard who would drink her own face off even while on duty." Tsunade's eyes met his in a lopsided frown, and she took another long draught of alcohol.

"It's three in the morning," she countered, gesturing aimlessly at nothing with the bottle. "I've been off-duty for hours now, and I need this one. Besides, I never said I _wanted _to clean up this tangled mess the old man left behind. " Jiraiya gave a drawn-out, exasperated sigh, leaping down from the windowsill and pulling up a chair to take a drink of his own. He downed it in one swallow and set the glass on the desk with a heavy-handed clink, before levelling a hard stare on his old teammate.

"I trust, then, that you're received my latest report." Tsunade gave him an odd look, then nodded. Even now, after several _decades_, she couldn't understand how the old toad sage could change from a total goofball to a serious and professional with less than a moment's warning. Jiraiya hung his head, arms crossed over his broad chest. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's as true as anything. Orochimaru is officially dead. I saw it with my own two eyes."

"That's not what surprised me; I knew that slimy bastard would get his comeuppance one day, and it just so happened it was today. What threw me for a loop was when you said you thought Sasuke had done the deed."

"The wounds on Orochimaru's body matched those of a straight-edged blade, like the one Sasuke now carries, and there are burns consistent with intense application of Raiton chakra. I doubt there are many outside of Kumo that it could've been." Jiraiya leant back in his seat. "Orochimaru _was _severely weakened, both from the effects of his current body breaking down and because of Sarutobi-sensei sealing the use of his arms. Though even with such a handicap, I doubt dispatching Ororhimaru would've been an easy task for anyone. Sasuke must have improved drastically during his time with him. If that's true, then there's not a shred of doubt in my mind that he'll go after Itachi."

"And if Itachi should tell him the truth of the Uchiha massacre like the loving older brother he is, Sasuke'll return here looking for vengeance," Tsunade finished, drumming her fingers on the desk. "Well, that certainly sounds like _fun," _she spat, voice dripping with sarcasm. A knock at the office door silenced the both of them, and Tsunade set down the sake bottle with a tired sigh and a longing gaze. "Enter," she called, and the door swung open to reveal a man dressed in Konoha regulation jounin attire, his face bearing a twisted, mangled scar stretching across the bridge of his nose and over his left cheek.

"I apologise for the interruption, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama," Namiashi Raidou began, noticing the Gama-sennin's presence. "The delegates from Kumo and Taki have arrived earlier than scheduled. Would you like me to show them in?" Tsunade spent a moment straightening the countless forms and papers scattered across her desk in a vain attempt to make it appear a mite more presentable. In the wake of Orochimaru's death, she had all but forgotten about _that. _With the Chuunin exams only a few days away, teams of shinobi from all across the Five Nations and beyond would flock to Konoha for the chance at promotion, and several villages had been quite... _eager, _shall we say, about the next exam. Considering that the enthusiasm came mainly from villages such as Kumo and Taki, well known partially for the jinchuuriki they harboured, she had her suspicions that it was because of a certain blonde she could most certainly live without.

"Send them in, Raidou." The tokubetsu jounin nodded respectfully and bowed out of the room, returning moments later with a sizable group of people that quickly split up into two groups upon finding the size of the room. On one side, a group of five shinobi lead by a burly, dark-skinned man in white Kumo jounin uniform, with a collection of shortswords sheathed in a special holder on his back. His platinum blonde hair was slicked back out of his face, dark sunglasses shielding his eyes even in the dim light, and a tattoo of a bull's skull burned black on his cheek. His beefy arms, thick as steel cables, crossed over his chest. With him stood a trio of females, two rather small and slender with one being a stern blonde with pale skin in a tight black outfit and the other being a dark-skinned redhead with a smirk pulling at her cheeks. The third was another blonde, her arms rested on her hips as she tried to counterbalance the weight of her breasts, which Tsunade noticed could rival hers in size. The fourth shinobi under the large man's lead was a male, his dark face frozen in a thoughtful expression as he sucked on the head of a lollipop. His platinum blonde hair was the same shade as his sensei's but short and spiky, and he too carried a sword strapped to his back.

On the other, the group was smaller, though only slightly. A group of three shinobi were led by an older male, though he himself looked as if he was only in his late teens. Dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and soft black eyes set into a friendly, smiling face. A blue jacket and dark pants bound his thin frame, a single pauldron on his left shoulder the only piece of protection he wore other than the shuriken holster on his thigh. His genin team consisted of two girls and a boy: the boy was all scowls and brooding, much like a certain Uchiha in his youth, his lanky, shoulder-length dark grey hair framing his angular face. Other than that, he was fairly nondescript, garbed in generic grey shinobi attire, though with a pair of bracers on both arms and shinguards on both legs, and a large, two-handed bladed fan. The two females were considerably more interesting to look at. One, a grinning dark-skinned girl with short, mint green hair and gleaming orange eyes, was dressed in a white tank top and short skirt, with a large red bag strapped across her back. Her teammate was almost her opposite in appearance, with bright orange hair that cascaded down her back in a single, unbroken sheet, bright emerald eyes, and pale skin. Unlike the other girl, who clearly had some muscle on her and was likely a taijutsu specialist, the green-eyed one was fairly thin, though her eyes betrayed an intelligence that wasn't often seen on genin outside the Nara clan.

"I present to you," Raidou announced, "the leader of Takigakure, Shibuki-sama, and his team of genin, and Killer Bee-sama, brother of Raikage-sama." Shibuki bowed graciously, but Bee gave nothing but a grunt.

"Big bro's lookin' forward to the final event, yo! He's rarin' to see yo' ninja's tango!"

"I apologise for Bee-senpai, Hokage-sama," the thin blonde said regretfully, bowing lowly. "He has a tendency to speak in rap. Raikage-sama is eagerly waiting to see your shinobi in action during the final exam. My name is Nii Yugito, and these are Karui, Samui, and Omoi." The three genin all bowed to the foreign superior. Tsunade nodded, and turned to Shibuki.

"These are my village's most promising genin, Chinatsu," he gestured to the orange-haired girl, who smiled politely, "Fuu," the green-haired girl, who grinned, puffing out her chest, "and Hideaki," the grey-haired boy, who merely grunted his acknowledgement. A look of realisation and remembrance passed across Fuu's face, and she looked at the Hokage with a hopeful smile.

"'Scuse me, lady," she started rudely, "d'you know where nii-sama is?" Shibuki balked, and hurried to apologise for his subordinate's impudence.

"M-My apologies, Hokage-dono! Y-You see, Fuu has been rather excited about visiting Konoha and hopefully meeting your jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. She is the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi no Kabutomushi, and due to their similar circumstances she considers him something of a sibling." Tsunade nodded understandingly.

"Naruto is away from the village on a mission in Demon Country at the moment..." she began, but a small smile came to her face at Fuu's crestfallen expression. "But I recently received a missive informing me that his objective had been completed and he'd be returning to the village immediately. After all, he's participating in the Chuunin Exams as well."

Fuu brightened up instantly. "You mean I'm gonna see nii-sama in action! _Sweet!" _ She grabbed hold of Chinatsu's hands and danced around in a circle with her, surprising the other girl for a moment. She must have been used to it, though as she quickly recovered and joined in with Fuu's dancing, giggling girlishly. Hideaki scoffed and turned away, glaring at the wall so hard it might've caught fire.

"So there'll be at least four jinchuuriki in the village at one time?" Yugito wondered, confusing everyone who wasn't a Kumo shinobi. "I'm the vessel of the Nibi no Nekomata, and Bee-senpai has the Hachibi no Kyougyuu. Won't that make Konoha a target for the Akatsuki during the exam?"

"Tch," Bee scoffed, a grin breaking out over his cheeks. "No use keepin' them worries around, if Akatsuki shows up we'll beat 'em to the ground!"

"He is right, in a way," Jiraiya spoke up, everyone having forgotten he was there at all. "With so many powerful shinobi, including both Tsunade, myself, your groups, and at the final exam likely both the Kazekage and Raikage, Akatsuki would be rather foolish to waste manpower on such a useless endeavour. I don't believe they'll attempt an attack during the exams. Besides, they prefer to pick off their prey one by one, than take them in one fell swoop. It's a lot safer that way."

"We can only hope they'll think that way as well, when the time comes. Otherwise, Konoha may be in for another eventful Chuunin Exams."

* * *

_**Not feeling well?**_

A soft growl rumbled in her throat, but she refused to acknowledge the jeering voice inside her head. Unlike the voice she knew _he _heard it was not the deep, primal snarl of a barely restrained animal, hiding within his very soul until the moment it could latch on and leech the life from its host till it was nothing but a mindless husk. It was feminine, high in pitch and harsh in timbre, and filled only with cold malice and spite for its vessel. Both of them were as snide and mocking as each other, though.

_**It's useless trying to ignore me, Danielle. I know how to get inside your head.**_

"Be quiet, will you." It wasn't a question, but an order. An order without any power behind it, but an order nonetheless. After all, who was she, Danielle Baptiste, a simple New Orleans-born dancer without an ounce of strength to call her own, to demand anything of the Angelus, the age-old personification of light itself.

_**What's the matter, girl? Upset because your boyfriend went and screwed some other willing whore? **_

"Don't talk about them like that..." she hissed, hugging herself tightly. Of course the Angelus would know what she was thinking. She _was _sitting inside the girl's head, after all. It just sounded so horrible out loud; the other two, they had loved him for so long that she didn't hold nearly as much claim to him. There was no reason for her to feel so... so _betrayed. _And yet, she couldn't help but feel the same way that Neru was undoubtedly feeling at that very moment. Granted, Dani was far less _vocal _about it...

"Get back here, you... you _bitch!" _Dani felt herself flinch at the shrill shriek that tore through the air, punctuated by the twin flashes of lightning and fire igniting in the open air, filling her nostrils with the acrid odours of smoke and ozone both. She watched as Haku's slender frame twisted in the air, weaving gracefully around the gout of blazing orange flame and allowing the bolt of electricity to clash harmlessly against the shield of pure, smooth ice that formed from the very air before her, and buried her face into her knees. It was horrid, that something that she wanted to consider small and insignificant could cause the bonds the three of them had forged over the past three years as something almost like sisters to crumble so easily.

_**This can only be good, my child! This is your opportunity to tear away from his influence and strike him down once and for all! Do remember that he is not simply a boy, but the vessel of the Dar-**_

"Don't even say it!" Dani yelled into her thighs, wiping away the unshed tears on her jeans. "I don't want to hear another word about him being the Darkness... I don't care about that."

"That's nice to hear." Her head whipped round, sending long, straight locks of blonde splaying out through the air as her sharp blue eyes, rimmed with red, came to rest upon Naruto's tired form, threading a hand through his hair as he stepped up beside her. "You're not mad at me too, are you?" He didn't receive an answer. Not verbally, at least. "Yare, yare... If I could apologise for something like this, don't you think I would have already?"

"You're right, this isn't something you can fix by just saying you're sorry and leaving it at that!" Naruto gave a quiet hiss, and turned away slightly. "You made this happen! You vanish off the face of the earth for three fucking years, and the first chance you get you start banging girls in foreign countries? I don't care if it was Haku, that's still pretty fucked up!" Naruto gave her an odd look.

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard you curse so much in a single conversation." For a moment, she seriously considered splitting his head like a watermelon. Just one moment. "You seem to be the expert on fixing things, so hows about you tell me what I'm doing wrong! Tell me how to make it up to you!" He yelped in surprise when Dani's fist collided with the bridge of his nose, and his fingers flew to his face in an attempt to stem the swift flow of crimson blood from the battered nostrils. "I guess I deser- mmph!" And just as quick, the blonde angel gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him forward, body lurching uncomfortably as she did so, and pressed her lips forcefully to his in a violent kiss. She ignored the life-giving liquid staining her lips a bright cherry red, and allowed her arms to slowly encircle the taller blonde's neck, and his to snake around her waist. It wouldn't fix everything, but it was a start at least.

"Neru, please! Be reasonable!" It was a long shot, but at this point Haku would try just about anything. A mirror of ice branched out from the side of a building to halt the oncoming fireball in its path, and while it may have succeeded in dispelling the Katon jutsu, the roiling flames still managed to plough the chakra-reinforced ice like a gust to sand. "It was just the heat of the moment! I never meant to do something like that to you!"

"Heat of the moment, huh?" Haku immediately regretted those words, seeing the crazed gleam in Neru's luminous golden eyes as she moulded scarlet flame between her fingers. "Then you won't mind if just so _happen _to burn you to a crisp! It's just the _heat of the moment, _after all!" Her palms shot outward, propelling the basketball-sized sphere of fire toward her earthbound foe from her perch atop a building. Haku knew that rolling away from it would not be enough, not with how much chakra had undoubtedly been packed into it, and leapt for the building upon which Neru herself stood, her sandaled feet blurred as she raced up the wall and away from the small fireball as it collided with the earth in a brilliant burst of red, orange and yellow that expanded outwards and upwards, barely granting her enough time to sprint out of its rapidly increasing range. Haku spun as she felt her feet leave the firm wall, ignoring the rising heat behind her as she formed a hasty ice mirror to nullify the oncoming lightning bolt, but that didn't save her from the savage right hook that followed. The punch ploughed clear through her mirror as if it wasn't even there, slamming into her jaw with the force of a runaway freight train and throwing her bodily across the street and into the walls of an opposite building just as the fireball was about to reach her.

Neru grinned. She wasn't even close to done yet. She dispelled the rising flames with a flick of her wrist, lest they end her fun prematurely, and leapt on Haku like a wild animal. The white-haired kunoichi panted heavily as Neru pinned her into the wall, her golden eyes wide with fright as she sighted the familiar yellow glow in her fellow jounin's eyes. Neru's devilish smile grew and grew till it near bisected her face, baring twin rows of gleaming white teeth complete with long, fang-like canines. It was finally here! The day when she could put all these other girls in their places, and claim her own rightful place at her Naruto-kun's side! They weren't good enough, nowhere near, not compared to her! She, who had loved him all this time! He was **hers! And she'd be damned before she'd let some frigid hussy take him away!**

A scream pervaded the hot air, just as Neru was about to tear the poor Momochi limb from blood-soaked limb, and she looked about, her eyes flickering back to their normal dark hue for but a moment. But that was all it took, for in that brief instant she saw beyond the dark haze of emotion that had fallen around her, effectively blinding her, and felt her heart stop as she watched her beloved fall to his knees, and then collapse sideways uselessly upon the rooftop.

Haku clutched at her sore, reddened throat as she gulped down fevered lungfuls of sweet oxygen. She had been all but forgotten as Neru had literally vanished from close proximity as if she were never there, and rematerialised without any kind of warning at Naruto's side, throwing Dani aside like so much trash in her frantic bid to save her Naruto-kun. Such speed rivalled even Gai...

Neru ran her hands over Naruto's convulsing frame, hands alight with energy as she attempted to diagnose him even while she retained the effects of the Darkness' influence, growing more and more distraught with each passing second. What did it _mean _there was nothing wrong with him? Obviously that wasn't true! Healthy people didn't just fall down and start coughing blood all over the place, and-

Wait.

She glanced back. There it was, a messy spattering of blood upon the concrete, with a thin rivulet leaking even now from between his pale lips. It stained the ground crimson where it ran. She turned her eyes to Dani, standing only a few feet away, horrified, and they burned with fury.

"**You did something, didn't you!?" **She shrieked, torn between throttling the angelic _whore _and making sure that her beloved stayed on this side of Death's scythe. **"If you had anything to do with this, you're gonna fucking NEED that halo, you bitch!" **Dani didn't reply. She didn't even spare a glance in Neru's direction. In fact, she hadn't heard the possessed teen at all. Nevertheless, the thoughts running through her mind were near enough identical. Had she done this? Had her desperate need for affection brought the vessels of Light and Darkness far closer than they should ever be outside of combat? What if it was her fault, that she had caused this by goading him into kissing her and then accidentally letting loose the Angelus to wreak havoc on his body? Oh, _god! _She wouldn't be able to bear having him look at her after this if she had caused it! Scratch that, he might not even _survive _because of her! Oh, oh, _god!_

* * *

The light burnt his eyes.

His body ached, and the light burnt his eyes.

His head swam, his body ached, and _the light burnt his eyes. _

Would someone turn off that _damned _light already?

"N-Naruto-kun...?"

There! Just turn off the light, please! Just flick the little plastic switch, it's not hard, goddammit!

"Na-Na-Naru... Hokage-sama!"

He listened in anguish to the footsteps as they faded away. Why, why couldn't he catch a break!? More footsteps, this time moving very quickly and very close. He could feel someone's presence, towering over him like an omen of death, but strangely warm and opening, save for the lingering stench of alcohol. It was so strong he could have gagged. The presence placed a hand, firm but soft, flat against his chest and pressed. A faint hiss of pain pushed past his dry lips. It was all he could manage.

"Uzumaki Naruto, can you hear me?"

He hissed again. He daren't attempt a groan, or anything more taxing on his already sore throat.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado Naruto, do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

"Shh..." he admonished lightly. To be honest, it was just coincidence that that _had _been what he wanted to say. A fortunate coincidence, because he wasn't sure that he would've been able to say anything else if he tried. He felt cool air on his cheek as they breathed a sigh of relief, and their presence receded slightly, he concluded that they must have stood up.

"He's definitely awake in there, but it doesn't look like he's in too good shape." Gee, you think? "I think at this rate I'm going to have to pull him out of the Chuunin Exams." Wait, what? "He can't fight like this, that's insane. He would barely be able to walk if he tried. I just can't even begin to imagine the number of people that'll be disappointed..."

"Ngh..." he coughed, and he felt Tsunade's eyes upon him once again. Pull him out!? No way in hell would he let that happen! There was no way... just no way... "There's... no way that... I'll let... Kiba outrank... me..."

He felt Tsunade sigh again, but it was a sort of amused sound. "You're a real fuckwit, you know that?" Well, that was surprising. It wasn't often he heard the Godaime Hokage curse, especially not in such a jovial manner. "You can't honestly think you can compete like this, can you? That's suicide! You'd have to be the luckiest guy on the planet to last three minutes in your condition!"

"Good thing I've got dumb luck up the wazoo... huh..." he wheezed, allowing a small smile to pull at his cheeks.

"That only covers so much, kid." She sat on the edge of the bed, inches from his leg, and he heard the slight clatter as she pulled the record from the railing and flip through its pages. "Some of this stuff is absolutely ridiculous, I don't even understand how I missed it before now. Multiple infections slowly spreading throughout multiple portions of your anatomy, several parts of your internal systems are just packing up and clocking in early without any discernible reason why. I just don't understand, unless..."

He didn't like the sound of that. "Unless...?"

"You were dead for three years, Naruto. Sure, your body was still technically 'alive': it didn't decompose or anything, and it developed as it would have had you been alive. It was more like you'd just taken a very, very, _very _long nap. But all that time, your body was just laying, defenceless, on the ground. We aren't even sure _when _Orochimaru got his hands on your corpse, so for all we know he could have had ample time to do something... untoward."

"So what is it you're saying... exactly?"

"I'm saying that right now, fighting on a grand scale is completely out of the question, as are the Chuunin Exams. Doing anything too strenuous will be a challenge for you from now on, so I'm not sure how you're going to continue being a shinobi... especially not at the rate with which these infections are progressing. You'll be out of action for the foreseeable future, so... I'm sorry. I wish there was something more I could do, but there's not. So I'm sorry."

Tsunade hurried from the room after that. Naruto didn't care that she essentially ran away. It didn't matter to him anymore. Nothing did.

"I can't... I can't fight anymore. There's nothing more I can do."

_**AWW... LIttlE NaruTo, aLL ALoNe?**_

_Shut up. I don't want to hear it now._

_**wELl, AREn't yoU juSt A TREat? You'RE sO PathetIC i cOuld crY.**_

_What the fuck would you know about it? You wouldn't have any idea what something like this is like... you're just a parasite._

_**You're RIgHt. I DOn't Know wHAT iT'S lIKE tO BE SO HElpLesS yOU can't eveN Take A piSs WitHOuT sOMEoNE tHERE tO hElP yoU AiM.**_

"_**I wish I could be of more help, Naruto." **_

Naruto flinched. "Kyuubi?" he said aloud. Thankfully, Tsunade's departure had left the room empty save for himself and the steady monotonous beep of his heart monitor. There was a voice he hadn't heard in a while. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd heard the old fox speak even once since he'd 'returned from the grave'. Why choose now to speak up?

_Why did this happen now, Kyuubi? For days now I've felt right as rain, then suddenly I keel over like Chouji's sitting on my back. Why did it turn out this way?_

"_**It's a little complicated, and it involves some kind of connection I don't even fully understand, since it's so otherworldly. You already know that the Darkness absolutely despises weakness in its host, and it won't let you die if it can help it, which, in many cases, it can. Up until now, it's been suppressing the symptoms of the disease the snake human inflicted you with, so that's why you've felt perfectly healthy."**_

_And why exactly did that protection fail? _

"_**Well... this is the part I can't work out myself. The people with whom you've shared the Darkness' power are literally connected to you through it - their Darkness and yours are part and parcel of the same, timeless entity. When that girl you're so fond of tapped into her latent Darkness abilities, the Darkness's efforts were divided between strengthening her - something that it isn't supposed to do, hence why it's so taxing - and suppressing your illness. Long story short, it wasn't enough to keep the symptoms under wraps, and with your body so unused to the sickness it reacted violently."**_

_That's putting it lightly. I'm so fucked right now I can barely breathe, and to top it off even if I do recover I might never get to the point where I'm able to continue being a shinobi. This is so fucking unfair!_

"Sulking like a spoiled brat isn't gonna help you, idiot," said a voice Naruto knew all too well, one that surprised him enough to tear him free from his mental tantrum. The newcomer tossed a plastic bag filled with instant ramen cups and comic books (he could tell the former by the plastic rattle, and the latter by the papery thwack) onto the bed, carefully enough not to cause the boy too much undue grief because of his wounds, and took a seat on the lone chair beside him. "Though to be honest, I don't see how you could get out of this by any other means either..."

"Aren't visitors supposed to cheer you up, Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned the lazy Nara half-heartedly. "Saying stuff like, 'it'll be fine', or, 'you'll be kicking ass again before you can say "decapitation"', or something like that?" Shikamaru waved the comment aside like it was nothing but a soft breeze.

"You're confusing me with the average visitor. As much as it pains me to admit it, I'm certainly not average by anyone's standards." He reclined leisurely in the wooden chair, grimacing slightly at the loud creak of its joints, and glanced out of the window to where the sun now dipped low in the sky, painting the horizon a blazing orange. "I just thought that... you'd probably be going stir-crazy right about now, stuck in here with nothing to do. You might appreciate some company, and a kick up the ass to get you better."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Shika. It means a lot to me." He gave a tired sigh, and let his head sink slightly into his pillows. "I just don't know what I'm gonna do anymore. Baachan tells me there's no way I can keep being a shinobi like this even if I were to recover enough to function almost normally. That's not even going near what might happen if things get worse and I have another attack."

"Let it never be said that Uzumaki Naruto didn't know to be melodramatic," Shikamaru droned, half-joking. "You act like it's the end of the world, when really it's nowhere near as bad as you make it out to be. You have a knack for getting yourself out of tight situations - saying nothing of your _other _knack for getting yourself _into _them - so I'm fairly certain you'll find a way. Fairly. Just remember that you're perhaps the only person in the world that survived death."

"Ha..." Naruto laughed weakly, smiling sadly. "You're right, I guess... but everyone's luck's gotta run out some day, right?"

"Geez, you writing a soap opera or something? You keep talking like that and I'll have to get your girls to knock some goddamn sense into you. Maybe you'll listen to them, eh?" Shikamaru looked back to Naruto, only to find the blonde's eyes downcast, shadowed by his fringe. "Naruto?"

Naruto thought about 'his girls'; those three (perhaps four or five, he hadn't quite decided where he stood with Karin or Shion yet) beautiful young women that had wormed their ways into his already hectic life. He thought of Haku and Neru, both irrevocably altered by the Darkness he'd unwittingly gifted to them to the point where even he didn't know how much of the damned beast's power festered within them. And of Dani, her horrified face as she watched him fall. Of course, she'd think this was her fault automatically, what with the Angelus still inside of her. Maybe if... maybe if he hadn't let his guard down to them in the first place, if he hadn't opened his heart and let them in, none of them would be in this mess. Neru wouldn't have died all those years ago, for one, only to be brought back practically a different person a week later. Haku would probably still be travelling with Zabuza, seeking their revenge on the Mizukage. And Dani... he had no idea what kind of change would occur in her life. Ultimately, all this was _his fault._

_**fInALlY, He ReAliseS. yoU TOOk LOng enOugH, boY.**_

"...Troublesome."

* * *

What was she supposed to believe other than that it was her fault? It was the Angelus living inside her soul that had caused such a violent reaction against the Darkness' taint on Naruto's own, wasn't it? If she hadn't become so close to him, she would have never shown him affection in such a way, and he wouldn't have become injured because of her.

It was unknown to the blonde Baptiste just how closely her train of thought and Naruto's were running.

She didn't want to get near him, in case the Angelus did something more, in case it tried to finish the job. She didn't want to be too far away, in case something else happened to him and he... he... she couldn't bring herself to even think the words. It was all she could do to remain seated upon the low bench mere metres from the door to his room, eyes darting from side to side very few seconds and body twitching like a rabbit waiting for a chance to bolt back to its hole. No one came to assuage her concerns, to tell her that it wasn't, in fact, her doing at all, but the malevolent machinations of everybody's favourite pale-faced malcontent. Even Tsunade, and later Shikamaru, merely strolled right past her without even a single glance in her direction when they passed both into and out of the room. They didn't bother to tell her that it wasn't she who had put him there. So, Danielle's thoughts were left to boil and fester within the dark recesses of her mind, aided by the subtle prompts the Angelus whispered to her disguised as words of comfort, until she was absolutely certain that it was her fault. And in fact, it was right around the time when she had decided that it would be better if she were to leave right now, to put thousands of miles between her and Naruto, and never see him again - how could she even bear to look after this - when someone appeared who _did _see her, and _did _approach her.

"You seem a little distraught, miss..." Dani flinched in shock at the sudden voice, hoarse and grating upon her eardrums, and when she turned to politely decline whatever invitation this man wanted to give her, she recoiled in disgust at the figure looming over her.

To say looming, really, was incorrect. His greater stature was more to the fact that she happened to be sitting down, while he, back hunched and one leg stuck out at an awkward angle as if it had been shattered beyond repair and now hung uselessly from his knee, was standing at his full and rather unimpressive height. His gnarled, scar-ridden face repulsed her to the very core, locks of greasy, black hair matted to open sores and scars, a few of which even looked like they were rotting, as if the man was actually a corpse given life. His breath matched, filling her nostrils with the stench of rot and decay and death. To say that the man looked like death warmed up would be overestimating just how warm he looked. She didn't even want to think of the haze of sin, evil, and Darkness with a capital D that stuck to him like a shadow.

"O-Oh no, I'm fine, r-really...!" Dani stammered weakly, shrinking away from the foul man, who thwarted her escape by drawing closer, leaning over her with gloved hands rested upon the pommel of a walking cane.

"There's no need to fear me, miss. There's much better things to spend time fearing than ol' Victor." 'Victor' took a seat upon the bench, sighing exhaustedly as he took his weight from his legs. Dani stopped trying to escape, for now, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to stay as far from this man as possible. "Y'see, I walk through this hospital as I often do, and I sees a pretty young thing lookin' like someone just killed her puppy in fron' of her. Now, being the kind of man I am, I can't help but go over to this girl, see, and see if I can't make those troubles disappear." He smiled, but the way the gesture pulled at his warped flesh only made him appear even more disgusting. "So hows about it, miss? Y'mind tellin' old Victor what's the matter, so he might be able to give you a hand?"

* * *

"So this is the place you were talking about, right?" Suigetsu inquired, sheathing his new sword upon his back as he removed it from the body of an armoured soldier, one of the many that had dared attack their party as they approached. He looked to Juugo, the hulking monster of a man that for now looked very soft and good-natured, and the pair of them looked back to their de facto leader, his cloak billowing in the wind around his lean frame. Sasuke's Sharingan ignited with life as he eyed the enormous stone doors, built into the side of a mountain, and the gleaming red-orange insignia emblazoned upon it: that of a circle, bisected vertically a single, long line. He could sense the energy around this place. It was pitch-black, overbearing, and hungry, but most of all, _familiar. _He'd felt this same energy every day for Kami knows how long, serving on Team Seven. A look to the side, to one of the soldiers' corpses, only confirmed it. The armour they wore and the weapons they wielded were not those of ninja, not by a long shot. After all, not many shinobi can boast to have laid a hand on a firearm, can they?

As Uchiha Sasuke, Houzuki Suigetsu, and Tenbin no Juugo, looked upon the entrance to the Brotherhood's hideout, thunder cracked and lightning flashed in the darkening sky, as if in recognition of the dark events unfolding.

* * *

**Howzit?**

**Been a while, my friends. I hope this chapter meets with your approval and all that jazz. Let me say right here that this chapter marks the beginning of a new arc that is definitely more Darkness than it is Naruto, largely because I believe that the Darkness side of things has been sorely lacking as of late, and it fits in nicely with the storyline I have sort of half worked out in mind without any idea of how events will fit with regards to order.**

**Sometimes, my brain really does piss me off.**

**Well, things happened, didn't they? The Shikotsumyaku Orochimaru put in Naruto back in chapter one comes back to bit him in the ass, and now he has to deal with his rapidly deteriorating condition as well as Akatsuki, Iwagakure, Hebi **_**and now **_**Victor and his Brotherhood. He certainly has a knack for getting people to the point where they want to murder him. Apart from that, I really don't have anything else to say, except for I hope you enjoyed this and will wait patiently for the next chapter! Goodnight!**

**Next time, on FSIR:**

**Down but not out! Naruto works to recover from his brush with death, while dark forces plot against him throughout the ninja world. When it all comes together, who will be left standing? Tune in next time, boys and girls! (Rolls credits with True by exist****†****trace)**


	8. Chapter 8: A Thousand Voices Screaming

**Chapter 8, The Sound of a Thousand Voices Screaming In Unison**

The boy's fingers clenched furiously around fistfuls of fabric, the itchy cloth irritating his palms and the stench of disinfectant strong in his nostrils. He supposed that the colour white was supposed to be calming and refreshing, but staring down at the sterile sheets dotted with pastel colours infuriated him. A hand touched on his shoulder, eliciting a gasp as pain blossomed over the pale skin, and gently nudged him back into the pillow.

"You shouldn't hunch over like that, you'll hurt your spine," Tsunade's voice, uncharacteristically soft, reprimanded him before returning her hand to flipping through the sheets on the clipboard held in the crook of her other arm. Naruto scoffed and glanced away to the darkened window. The moon was full out there, hanging solemnly in the night sky as it cast its ghostly pallor over the quiet village. "There's no need to be so dramatic," the Sannin scolded, tone a little harsher, a little closer to what it usually was. "Stop acting like it's the end of the world. Hundreds of civilians live without ninja training, and just as many shinobi leave active duty and lead normal lives. You'll do fine."

"That's not what bothers me."

"Oh?"

"Do you really think that I'll ever be able to live a normal life? I'm a warrior, born and bred, lady. And on top of that, I've got the Darkness breathing down my neck, roaring in my ears, influencing every move I make. If I have to live like a civilian, it'll drive me crazy," he hissed, releasing the blanket from between his curled fingers and relaxing back with a soft breath. Tsunade sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, taking care not to touch Naruto's legs.

"Do you feel any pain right now? Do you feel unusual at all?" she questioned, but it didn't sound like a concerned kind of question. It was the kind where she already knew the answer, and was just waiting for you to prove her right.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then what's there to worry about?" Tsunade cut him off sharply before he could complain. The both of them knew that he was so pumped full of analgesics that it was a wonder he could feel anything at all. Really, sometimes the master medic had to praise the blonde's tenacity. "That's a good sign, don't you think? You're not one to give up so easily, so I won't have you acting so melancholy now."

"I don't give up when there's a chance."

Tsunade had already begun to rise from the bed, and froze mid-movement. She looked back to the blonde, whose gaze had returned to the window, watching as thin wisps of dark cloud flitted across the night sky, silhouetted against the moonlight. The Hokage scowled and tugged the pale curtains over the glass, obscuring the sky from Naruto's view, and straightened up.

"I'll come back in the morning. Please, try to get some rest," she said tersely, moving swiftly to the door. Her hand lingered on the wall for a moment, alighting on the light switch. With an electric buzz the lights shut off, and the room was plunged into darkness save for the thin rod of light cast in through the ajar door. Then, she disappeared through the doorway and pulled it shut behind her, leaving Naruto alone in the pitch black. He hissed angrily, staring into the empty blackness where the door should be.

"This is bullshit," he muttered. "What does she think I'm gonna do? People don't just miraculously recover, not from things like this..."

"My, I never thought I'd hear such defeatist words uttered by you of all people."

Naruto froze, and the hairs along his arms all stood on end at once. The room suddenly felt colder and darker, as if all the life had been sapped from it and replaced with something old and foul. Something beyond mere evil. It reminded him far too much of the Darkness for his liking. And there, in the dark, just beside the shadowed silhouette of the door, he saw a pair of tiny red pinpricks, watching him curiously. But where red was a colour of warmth, this particular red was anything but; it was the colour of cold fury, of blood, of death. For a moment he believed that the Shinigami was here for him, but that would be too easy. Besides, he'd already seen what awaited those who died with the Darkness. That other world was completely beyond the Shinigami, no doubt about it.

And then, the crimson dots shifted, dancing through the shadows like gleaming cinders, and stopped beside the window, where the faintest pale light filtered through the thick curtains, before the drapes were wrenched apart forcefully, baring the hospital room to the moon's light. It touched upon a boy's pale tight skin, his unkempt onyx hair, his loose dark clothing, and the three black marks slowly circling his pupil within the pool of red that was his eye. However, if Naruto was at all surprised by this figure's appearance he far from showed it; looking away in disinterest and sighing tiredly.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure, Sasuke?" he droned monotonously. Sasuke growled furiously and in moments was at Naruto's bedside, hand thrust forward to grab at Naruto's jaw and force his head round to face him. Naruto winced in pain as his former teammate's rough grip sent waves of agony crashing against his nervous system, enough to break through the lull caused by his painkillers.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your betters, Naruto?" he spat in rage, crimson Sharingan boring holes into Naruto's dull cerulean. A cruel smirk twisted the tight skin of his cheeks. "Oh, my mistake. You never had any, did you? You were always so _capable, _I used to forget that you were a filthy, unwanted orphan. But now, just look at you! You're the picture of invalidity, aren't you? Just a helpless heap of skin and bones, can't even lift a hand to defend himself! I'm ashamed to think that this is the same person that fought me into a corner back at the Valley of the End! Of course, I _did _win that fight."

"It's not like you to set foot in Konoha without a reason, Sasuke. Rebellious little brats like you just itch to get away from home. So tell me why you're here, or I'll flare every ounce of chakra I've got. After all, I don't need to move to do that."

Sasuke laughed derisively. "And you think that'll help? You think any pathetic Leaf shinobi in this worthless village could hope to stop me?" He released his grip on Naruto's chin, letting him fall back into his pillow. "You've gotten complacent in recent years. Not everyone is as... _unpredictable, _as you."

"Aw, so you acknowledge me as your better then?" Naruto sang childishly, eliciting a hiss from Sasuke.

"As my _equal, _dammit, _equal! _I won't have you even daring to think you're better than me!" Sasuke ran a hand through his dark hair. "And besides, the day when I held you in such high regard has long since passed, hasn't it? I'm half-tempted to refer to you as 'old man', but I fear that would be far too clichéd."

"Your flowery words are beginning to piss me off. What do you want?"

"Ah, of course. How silly of me to get side-tracked. Well, what I want is simple." He pushed his face close to Naruto's, snarling viciously, his Sharingan spiralling furiously and gleaming an otherworldly scarlet. _"I want the Darkness."_

Naruto's throat gave a low, almost amused humming sound. "The Darkness...? Now why would someone like you want a thing like that? Ignoring the fact that you shouldn't even know about it, what exactly do you hope to do with it anyway? That is, assuming you managed to get it out of me in the first place." Sasuke smiled cruelly, drawing back to his full height.

"Don't you worry about that. My contractor has a great deal of knowledge about that _thing _inside you, as well as a way to extract it from your body. What he wants with it isn't any of my business, and I don't exactly care either way. All that matters..." Sasuke's voiced fell to a whisper as his face became expressionless, and his Sharingan began to gleam brightly as they spun, exuding the faintest of scarlet auras. "...is that we both get what we want." The eyes seemed to expand in Naruto's vision until all he saw, blotting out any sight of the hospital room behind them, were those six magatama-like shapes revolving around two perfect black circles. Those were the last things he saw, before they too turned to black.

* * *

The sun, hanging bright and golden in the clear blue sky, threw bars of pure radiance through the uncovered window and into the sterile hospital room, their warming light touching upon pristine white cloth and smooth hazel skin. Slender hands grabbed at fistfuls of blanket, pulling it closer and closer into their master's embrace. The girl that lay on this bed, in a manner that made it seem as if she had simply collapsed atop it, cared nothing for the way her arms jutted out at awkward angles, or the messiness of her hair, or even how her skirt rode up on her parted thighs. Because she knew that with those heavily-armed shinobi with the animal masks outside, no one would dare come in to bother her.

But the _noise _outside was unbearable! Weren't hospitals supposed to be quiet places of rest and recuperation? And yet countless numbers of people bustled about the blank white corridors, passing from room to room. She'd been mildly surprised to find even those masked ninja with the swords rushing about the place, along with countless jounin and chuunin, and even a few genin. And each one was asking for the same name: _Uzumaki._

That was Nii-sama's name.

Fuu inhaled deeply, breathing in the rough, animalistic scent on the sheets beneath her. He'd been here only a handful of hours prior, wrapped in these white covers, feeling like the world was coming down about his ears. And now he was gone. Not a soul in this village knew where he'd vanished to. The only clue was a lingering chakra signature filling the room, clashing with the equally overwhelming presence of Naruto's combined human and bijuu chakra. She could feel both of those chakras crawling over her skin. Nii-sama's chakra felt warm and inviting, but at the same time hot, raw, wild and untamed.

But the other chakra, neatly filling the other side of the room so that it was separated almost straight down the middle, was dark, cold, malicious; it pressed against her skin heavily, crawling across her body like insects and leaving behind a slimy feeling like a torrent of slugs. It burned, just like Nii-sama's, but with a cold fury, and the way it raged against its hotter cousin spoke of deep-seated envy, while Nii-sama's chakra held it back almost effortlessly, its sheer presence enough to stave off the cold, sickly pestilence.

But both chakras had one thing in common: an underlying darkness, creeping up from the core and infecting everything within reach with indomitable black.

Fuu moaned and tried to roll over, to sink herself deeper into her Nii-sama's essence and let its fiercely eager and familiar heat wrap around her like a blanket, protecting her. But no matter how she tried to push herself into the red, the dark, malevolent violet managed to creep under the rising warmth and run its icy, clammy tendrils over the bare skin of her arms, legs and midriff. She felt herself shiver as the door was pushed open, bringing with it a cool breeze on the back of her thighs.

"There you are! I've been looking for you all over the place!" She ignored Shibuki's voice with practiced ease, burrowing her face further into the pillow. "Seriously, Fuu-chan! You can't just run off whenever you feel like, especially not directly into a Konoha hospital! We're just visitors here, and our own village is small, so we have to be on our best behaviour and follow proper etiquette!"

"Shibu-tan." The nickname she'd used ever since they were little sounded strange in such a terse tone. Shibuki flinched at the aggression, but quickly relaxed and leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. Fuu wasn't normally like this, but then again, she'd never been so close to seeing her Nii-sama for the first time either. Fuu turned her head a little, and he caught a glimpse of a single gleaming orange eye. He sighed and glanced out the window, ignoring the not-so-subtle chakra signature hanging just outside, telling them of the ANBU operative watching them in silent warning. The village outside was just as busy as this hospital: shinobi and kunoichi of all ranks rushed about, searching for the missing Uzumaki.

Fuu turned back to the pillow the moment she saw Shibuki's eyes leave her. She had no right to be so angry with him, she supposed. He was her first ever friend, and had been that way for years, even before she began ninja training. He was the son of the village's leader, but that didn't stop him from becoming the very closest of friends with the village's pariah, the Nanabi jinchuuriki. For the longest time she'd thought that friendship was sincere, until she discovered that it was customary for jinchuuriki to be made with some connection to the village's current leader, to ensure their loyalty - for example, both the Ichibi jinchuuriki of Suna and her Nii-sama were the offspring of the village leader at the time. Shibuki was pressured by his family into becoming her friend, to safeguard the populace from the possibility of her turning rogue like the Yonbi and Gobi. But even after she'd confronted him about this...

"Don't try and lecture me, Shibu-tan."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Fuu-chan," he said easily, shaking his head. Fuu looked at him again, to find him once again watching her.

"You have no idea what this feels like."

"Nope, you're probably right."

"I spent all these years trying to get the chance to see my Nii-sama, and first I find out he's dead..."

"Bummer."

"But then he comes back, and the moment I get close enough to talk to him, he gets kidnapped."

"Yep, kinda sucks."

"Would you stop countering everything I say so carelessly like that!?" she hissed, ire flaring in her eyes. "I'm really worried here! You can't even feel the chakra here, can you? It's horrible, like the Shinigami's trying to smother me!" Shibuki's only reply was a confused look. "I've felt something like this before... and I'm really worried, Shibu-tan. I don't want my Nii-sama to be in danger, Shibu-tan."

When he saw the tears brimming in the usually determined orange orb, and the soft trembles against the hospital bed, Shibuki felt his heart break a little.

* * *

The pain should have dulled away by now. By now, he should have become numb to the cold steel pikes being forced through his palms with a slow, deliberate rhythm, to his fingers growing slick under the deluge of warm blood and cold sweat. But that would've been too easy. And to think, it wasn't even the doing of his captors that caused him such agony, but the subconscious efforts of his tenant to keep him alive, healing the damage just as fast as it was done and paving the way for even more torture.

A hand, covered by a scratchy woollen glove that frayed at its fingertips, pressed into his left palm, where the right was still being nailed to the wooden cross. He gasped in pain as the pressure pulled at the iron peg and tore the wound just that little bit more. That gasp soon turned to a cry as a finger was forced into the thick bloody ooze gathering around the metal rod, and dug out a slimy globule of the disgusting mixture. Through his hazy vision, he could just make out a silhouette in front of the unbearable light, crouched low to the ground bestially. It raised a hand to its face and rolled the bloody mess between its fingers, admiring it gleefully.

"I like the way he feels," sneered the figure. His voice sent shivers down the teen's spine, but he made efforts to bury them so that he did not pull at his wounds any further. It was cold and wet, slimy like a sewer. He'd felt a voice like this one only once before: Orochimaru. But this one felt worse; Orochimaru's at least spoke of cunning, intellect, and a wealth of knowledge however dark. This felt like a slug, but worse. "He feels sticky."

"Keep him focused. We don't want to risk anything interrupting us." It was a second voice that had drawled that handful of words. It reminded of him of how he might expect a corpse to speak: a dry, hoarse croak that spoke of its age and the extent of its decay. But this one also held authority and power as it barked out orders to the short, slimy man, and he replied, ducking low and darting forward with a high-pitched grunt. Naruto's head shot to the side on the back of his hand, and he just about felt the uncomfortable twinge in his stiff neck, but the stinging pain on his cheek barely registered in comparison to that of his hands.

"I want you to believe me, I wish this could have been any other way," the second voice continued, feigning remorse. He moved around the second source of light in the room, a deep purple flare stood firmly in the centre, and turned to face Naruto. The man looked like a corpse, too. His greying skin was pulled taut over his skull and was marred with deep scars that had long since ceased to bleed; his piercing, hawkish eyes were sunken into his head and ringed with dark purple bags; the flesh of his lips was pulled back over his gums, as if it had already begun to decompose, bearing the man's blackened grin. "But we all have tough choices to make, and this is yours."

"Who..." Naruto choked, gasping for air. "Who... ha... are you...?"

"Don't talk, and don't think. Just _listen," _the man commanded, raising one hand from the pommel of his cane and holding it in front of him, gloved palm open. "You've been keeping something that was once lost. Something that doesn't belong to you. Now you have to choose to give it back." The man limped closer on his good leg, bringing with him the awful stench of death and decay and filling the blonde's senses with it. "What happens to you is of secondary concern; I only care about one thing. _Give me the Darkness."_

"I have... ha... haha... " he muttered, beginning to laugh from the sheer absurdity of it all. He just couldn't catch a break, could he? Even when he's lying in a hospital bed, dying from some unknown illness, _someone _still manages to fuck up his day more than normal? "I have no idea what the _fuck _you're talking about!"

"Of course you don't. But the thing is, you're careless. And far too many people in the area believe you have a demon living inside of you. Normally, we would have had to _test _you, to see if you were the next Darkness host. But no matter how fun that might have been, I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity of someone who's seen the real thing up close and lived to tell the tale, could I? Especially not... your other half."

A crack sounded in the darkness on the other side of the room, behind the beaming spotlight and the purple glow, and with a flash a cone of orange light sprung into existence, illuminating Sasuke's condescending sneer, and another face beside his. One of someone in a very similar situation to his own.

"D-Dani...!?" he cried, inadvertently tugging on the steel pegs pinning his hands. And yet, he fought despite the pain, for on the other side of that room, shrouded in almost complete darkness much like he was bathed in bright light, was the slumped, helpless form of one Danielle Baptiste, her hands nailed into the wood of a cross just like his. But from what he could see, the bloody stains that ran across her hands and down the length of her arms had already dried; she'd been that way for a while. These sick _fucks _had held her captive likely for hours by now, and no one in the village had even noticed. _He _hadn't noticed. And he'd been unable to do anything about anyway. Even now, he couldn't help her.

"You hurt her quite a bit, you know, Naruto," the man sneered, gesturing to two of the armoured soldiers at the edge of the room to grip her cross under the horizontal beam and lift it, and her, bodily into the air, before setting it down a few feet further forward, closer to Naruto. "She loves you so much, but you never have any time for her. Even worse, you go gallivanting off across the world and romance _other women. _You're quite the devil, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about...? How do you know-?"

"And you scared her half to death with your little fainting episode, as well. She was terrified that what happened to you was because of her _desperate _bid for your affections."

"Stop lying! Dani... She wouldn't worry about stuff like that! She's not like that at all! Don't act like you know anything about her!"

"Oh, but I do," Victor drawled, and took a step closer to Dani. Naruto felt his skin crawl when a gnarled, twisted finger slowly dragged its way across her cheek, tracing a line through one of the angry red streaks left by the tears she must have cried when they'd forced the pikes through her palms. How many times must she have begged them to stop? How many times had she cried out in pain? How many... how many times had she called his name, desperately hoping that he would save her!? "You see, a broken heart makes for loose lips. All I needed to do was offer a friendly smile and a shoulder to cry on, and she was putty in my hands."

"You..."

"This is quite the fortunate circumstance, though. To think that we could acquire both the Darkness _and _the Angelus in one fell swoop! Lady Luck must be smiling on us today." Victor leant forward and put his face to the odd lantern-like device in the room's centre, alight with a purple glow as a stream of the same amethyst light flowed into its from Naruto's own body. "I can feel you, squirming in there... are you getting nervous?"

"You fuck! I'll tear out your spine and wear it as a belt! I'll rip off your arms and beat you to death with 'em! _**I'll kill you!" **_

"You can try, boy, but I'm afraid it's too late. Just a few moments more, and all that power you boasted will be locked away into the Siphon." He patted the lantern. "You'll be nothing more than a useless husk, an empty shell without that Darkness to fill the void! You won't be able to hurt anyone, let alone me. You're finished, you just haven't realised that now's your cue to lay down and die!"

* * *

_It's my fault. It's my fault that Naruto is dying. He's dying because I kissed him. Because I got close to him. Because I love him._

_**He is the Darkness.**_

_No. He's nothing like that at all._

_**Appearances are deceiving. He is the Darkness, whether you realise or not.**_

_So what? Why should that matter? Why is it that just because of some monster he was born with I can never be with him?_

_**Because you have me.**_

_So it's your fault, then._

_**Yes.**_

_Then I don't want you._

_**That choice isn't yours to make, girl.**_

_Get out of me. I want you gone. I want nothing more to do with you._

_**You can never be rid of me.**_

_I would rather die than spend another moment with you in my head._

_**...**_

_Angelus...?_

_**...So be it.**_

* * *

Light filled the room, dwarfing the paltry glow of the spotlight with the radiance of a thousand stars, all burning at their brightest. The bright white flooded to every corner like water, seeking out any hidden vestige of darkness and burning it away brutally. It washed around Naruto's body, and around those of Victor and his men, very nearly knocking the Brotherhood leader from his feet. And when all was said and done, thick black smoke billowed from the smouldering wreck that was Dani's crucifix, and standing over it was a figure.

It _looked _like Danielle Baptiste, to be sure. It had her long, flowing blonde hair and lithe frame, but that was where the similarities ended. Her sharp, azure eyes were replaced with gleaming orbs of golden light, much like his own Darkness eyes, from her back grew two enormous white-feathered wings and her clothes shredded to reveal a layer of thick, steel-trimmed armour covering every inch of her from neck to toe. The divine being looked over Victor and his men derisively, before settling its gaze on Naruto, still trapped against his cross.

"_**Darkness." **_Its voice was high and unmistakeably female, but it felt wrong somehow. Its voice doubled over on itself again and again, as if it were countless voices all saying the same thing at the same time. _**"We meet again."**_

"Wha-_**Aaargh!" **_Naruto screamed, throwing back his head. The force of the Demon Arms bursting from his back shattered the cross into useless timber, forcing another scream from the boy's sore throat as the steel nails were torn forcefully from his palms. His eyes glowed a deep yellow, and the Darkness swayed wildly from side to side as it stared down its counterpart. Just as light bloomed forth from the Angelus' very body, so too did a thick black fog billow out of the Darkness' form, blurring it until it was little more than a black mass with two yellow flashes for eyes. The fog hung close to the ground, evening the territory of the two otherworldly beings.

"Get out of here, now!" Victor barked orders to his men, as the group of soldiers huddled around their superior and escorted him from the area, far away from the clash between these two _monsters. _"This isn't over, Estacado! It's never over!" Victor looked to Sasuke, who remained standing not ten feet from the Angelus' back, just out of reach of its impressive wingspan. "What are you doing, you imbecile? Get out of there!"

"I'm not letting it end like this! I'll kill him, I swore to myself!"

"Fine! But you're on your own here!" And with that, Victor was gone, disappearing into the halls of the Brotherhood base.

"_**It's been quite a while since we've fought. You've gotten much better at scurrying off into the dark with your tail between your legs." **_The Angelus threw out an arm, and between her slender fingers a long, curved blade of pure golden light formed as if it had been there from the start. The Darkness grinned, baring rows of long, fang-like teeth.

"_**PeRhaPs tHiS sword wiLL fARe bETtEr, hM?" **_The Darkness retorted, eyeing the blade with no small degree of amusement. The Angelus' gritted her teeth and narrowed its eyes, but no more than that. They'd traded insults like this since the dawn of time, by now it was old news. She'd have to be incredibly temperamental to let such a base remark get to her so easily. _**"I sEEm tO rECaLl a CeRTaIN iNcIDenT whErE yOuR sWORd dId noThInG BuT pASs ThrOUgh mE. It WouLD bE A ShaMe tO lEt a FiGhT EnD So qUiCkLy, eH?"**_

"_**Oh, this won't be a fight," **_the Angelus shot back, pulling back its sword in readiness. _**"This will undoubtedly be a one-sided slaughter!" **_The sword darted forward, only to clash with several black tendrils, lashing at her arm and pulling at the limb viciously. She hissed angrily. The Darkness might be vulnerable to light, but she was vulnerable to darkness. In other words, just because her attacks were all light-based didn't mean that she had the upper hand right off the bat. _His _powers were just as damaging to her, and her light didn't do nearly as much damage to him as natural light did. A second blade appeared in her left hand and quickly hacked away at the thick whips of muscle and bone. A shriek of pain emanated from the wide jaws of the Creepers, and the severed limbs retreated into the Darkness, only for the monster to doubly redouble its efforts and unleash another, larger torrent of black tentacles, each armed with needle-shape tips and each spearing toward her with nigh unmatchable speed.

But the Angelus was not there anymore, and so the Demon Arms lanced uselessly into the crumbling brickwork of the far wall. But the Darkness wouldn't be fooled by such a simple trick. In one moment, the tendrils were retreating back into its smoky black form, and in the next it had spun on the feet hidden within the obsidian fog to face the angel once more, a black-wrapped hand bursting from within itself to level the barrel of a Darkness Gun upon the Angelus' exposed torso. The holy creature's sword continued to descend in the slashing motion it had already decided upon before the Darkness had even turned, but before it could reach its mark the gun's barrel exploded outwards with a powerful expulsion of air, mixed with its own monstrous essence. The resulting shockwave slammed into the Angelus with all the force of a runaway freight train, throwing her bodily through the brick wall and out into the open air.

The creature that once was Danielle Baptiste looked up to the sky as it pushed itself from the ground. The last burning orange of the sunset was slowly beginning to die away, and soon the twilight would be upon them; that border time between the day and the night. Between the Light and the Darkness. It was the perfect time for them to have their duel: when neither of them would be at an advantage. The sound of crumbling stone tore her attention away from the sky to find the Darkness standing at the lip of the hole her flight had made, its feet set upon the shattered bricks while in its hands both Darkness Guns were held tightly. The Creepers writhed in anticipation, but the two foul yellow specks within the blackened mass spoke only of an intent to maim, kill and destroy. Namely, to maim, kill and destroy _her. _

The Angelus leapt gracefully to her feet, and within a second her sword had been reformed in her right palm, and in her left a wide shield. The Darkness tilted its head to the side curiously, still grinning madly inside its dark shroud.

And then the two were at each other's throats once again, each racing forward to meet the other with its own respective assault. The Angelus slashed at the Darkness horizontally, but the blade was caught between its monstrous jaws with such ease, it made the action seem laughable. The Angelus clicked her tongue in annoyance and tried to force the blade past its resistance and through the damned thing's head, but its grip was too tight. The Darkness always did have an irritating flair for the dramatic. It jerked its head to the side, wrenching the blade from her grasp and tossing it to the side where it exploded into shards of light that just seemed to wink out of existence. The Darkness then quickly turned and gave its own attack in equal measure, letting loose a torrent of lightning bolts from the Darkness Gun in its left hand. Most of them missed due to the wide arc in which its arm swung as it pulled the trigger, while the few that had been on target clashed uselessly against the solid surface of the Angelus' shield. Its shield slowly lowered, only to find the Darkness on the other side, lashing at her with a fistful of dark essence.

The Angelus threw back her head, body tilting backward as she ducked under the solid beam of black tinged with yellow that exploded out the Darkness' palm as his fingers tensed around the stygian orb. It sailed cleanly past her head with a terrible howl, and exploded against the mountain into which the Brotherhood hideout had been built. Then, with a triumphant smirk, the Angelus' head snapped upright and her wings lashed out at the Darkness; the golden feathers slammed into the Darkness with incredible force, and the resulting gust of cold evening wind buffeted against its smoky body and threw it through the air. The Darkness grunted gutturally as its shoulders collided with the solid earth, feeling it crumble and shatter on its back.

"_**I'll admit, this is taking longer than I'd anticipated," **_the Angelus remarked as she pulled her sword back to her side elegantly, its blade singing as it sliced through the air. _**"Usually by now your host's body would be breaking down from the strain. You've picked a good one this time around."**_

"_**I cOuld sAy the Same. youR Girl'S PuttING uP a PrettY gOOD fighT AS WelL. toO Bad sHE'S INteNT on BEing my hoSt'S wILLINg BiTCH." **_The Angelus scowled furiously as the Darkness gave a low, throaty laugh. How dare he insult her so! While she would readily admit that she was more than disappointed in how close her host and that of the Darkness had become, insulting Danielle was, in effect, insulting her! She wouldn't stand for it!

"_**Then you know that as long as her body holds out then this battle won't end."**_

"_**WHY WoULd i Want It tO eNd? ThIS iS Far ToO mUCh fUn To stoP now!" **_the Darkness roared, spittle flying from between his jaws as they parted in a wild, maniacal grin. The Darkness Guns vanished in a flash of black and its arms jerked skyward and speared back toward the ground, pushing its torso up forcefully. By the time its foul, sulphurous eyes met with the white-gold of the Angelus, the divine creature's sword was pointed forward, its tapered tip levelled with the bridge of the Darkness' nose. Her feathered wings curled around her body, illuminating the rosy pink skin with a pale amber light, and the very outmost feathers glowed white almost painfully.

"_**She's by no means perfect, but she certainly isn't weak."**_ The deathly white light grew to blinding at the tips of her wings and that of her blade, before all of them burst outward in seven smooth curved lines of silver, sailing through the air like wayward stars. The seven points lanced through the air with nigh unrivalled speed, each filled and fuelled by the intent to pierce the Darkness' unholy flesh and rip it apart piece by piece, but they were found useless against the black tear that opened up between them. A black hole: a point of space with gravitational pull so powerful and unyielding that even light itself is helpless to escape. Her light-based attacks, along with almost anything she tried to throw at him, were nothing in the face of such a defense. And as an _offensive _ability...

...the effects were quite plain to see. After the snaking spears of light had been swallowed up and extinguished by the indomitable blackness of the Darkness' power, it hadn't even begun to stop there. She could feel its pull, growing stronger with each moment it remained in existence. Loose strands of hair and shreds of fabric form her torn clothing lifted into the air and reached out for the spiralling stygian void, and even her limbs and wings, powerful as they might be, were beginning to feel the strain. She started with a grunt and a short cry as the earth shifted underneath her feet, each grain of dirt rising into the air under the irresistible pull, and in response took to the skies to escape its effects.

Seeing its quarry lift into the air, the Darkness closed up the empty tear in existence with a jerk of its hand, and the Angelus was met with its crazed smile once again. The Darkness Guns returned to its palms, but it did not fire. It didn't even aim them at the hovering angel. It merely held them slack at its sides, watching and waiting. And then it opened its mouth.

"_**That may BE, but YOu fOrGet." **_It began, and for a moment its apparent insanity faltered, to a look of combined disgust, triumph, respect and contention. It was an odd look. Its eyes dipped to its opponent's chest. Were it any other creature, any being at all, the Angelus would have struck it down in a heartbeat for such impudence as to turn a lecherous gaze on her, but that wasn't it. The Darkness wasn't looking at the Angelus' breast, nor was it looking at the Angelus at all. It was looking at Danielle Baptiste, the frightened little spark of a soul cowering and whimpering as the Angelus' oppressive presence surrounded it like an enemy army. _**"yOUR hOsT IS my hOSt'S biTch. I KNOw All AbOut Her." **_He raised an arm to chest level, and, Darkness Gun still held tightly between its black-wrapped digits, jabbed at a spot in the very centre of its torso with the tip of its thumb. Just as she had realised that the Darkness wasn't staring at her, she realised that in this instance he was pointing at Naruto. _**"BUT yOU KnOw nOThIng abouT Him. YOU HaVE No IDeA whAt We Are capAbLe OF."**_

The Angelus looked taken aback for a moment, staring blankly at the Darkness. Then, she began to laugh heartily; a high, shrill, mocking sound that would have sent his ire into a burning frenzy at any other time.

"_**I apologise, am I hearing you correctly? Are you referring to your host with **_**respect?" **She continued to laugh, covering her ruby red lips with a hand demurely. _**"This is new, this is definitely new!" **_Her laughter faded, but her arrogant smirk did not. _**"But a monster is still a monster, and I've destroyed plenty in my day. Millions." **_The light upon her sword's tip grew bright once again, and her smile widened to show more of her teeth as she donned a very Darkness-esque grin. _**"Literally, millions. You see, I have no need to know your host's capabilities. Because no matter how good you might think that filthy, witless, inbred **_**human **_**is, it will never be enough to change the fact that I am better than you."**_

The Darkness didn't respond. It merely smiled and levelled the barrels of its guns with the floating body of the Angelus. Its body appeared to grow as more and more of the black smoky substance that comprised its form billowed out of the black coat it had made itself and spread its sooty haze through the evening air. The Angelus flinched as she felt its hellish presence surround her like a blanket - but instead of comforting her, it smothered her. It made her feel like a helpless little child, squeezing her lungs tightly as if they were its personal playthings and crawling over her skin like the countless limbs of some eldritch abomination. She steeled herself and gripped her light-sword tightly, bracing herself for the coming darkness. If it blocked out what little sunlight still remained on the horizon, which it was wont to do in their conflicts, she would be helpless. She figured that the Darkness liked that: it enjoyed depriving her of her godlike power, ripping it away brutally, and then playing with her where she was unable to stop it and where it was at the very peak of its power, swathed in complete darkness.

"_Chidori Eisou!"_

The Darkness jerked forward awkwardly, its arms falling loosely to its sides, as the spear of bluish white sparks erupted from its chest in a spray of black ichor and crimson blood. It eyed the white bar of electricity of disdain and enclosed an armoured hand around its shaft, glancing over its shoulder at the creature behind it.

Sasuke was stood there. That in itself was fairly surprising: the sheer level of power these two otherworldly beings were putting out just by _existing _was staggering to say the least, not to mention the severity of their attacks. To stay within attacking range and be able not only to stand, but to give his own attack was impressive. But then, that familiar form of greyish skin and long, silvery hair, with two large, leathery hand-like wings rising from its shoulder blades, accounted for at least part of that. Malevolent aura or not, the Darkness very much doubted that Sasuke would be able to do so were it not for the snake bastard's intervention.

"_**i shOULD Have KillEd yOu WhEN i HAd tHE chANCe!" **_it howled, twisting the Chidori Eisou in its grip and shattering it effortlessly. It turned on Sasuke, Darkness Guns alight with a strange yellow-tinged black light. _**"i WoN't MaKE ThaT mistAkE Aga-RAAGH!" **_the Darkness roared in agony as, the very moment it turned, countless blades of pure light pierced through its back, courtesy of its mortal foe, who had swooped down to ground level the moment she saw her opportunity. _**"Oh, yOU CheaTiNG bITCH!" **_It shrieked as the Angelus forced one last blade through the small of its back, its blade protruding from his stomach, and twisted it viciously.

"_**I wasn't expecting such an opening, but I'm grateful for now, human."**_ Sasuke turned a hateful glare to the Angelus, but didn't say a word. _**"To show my gratitude, I shall tell you to flee. I won't give this courtesy a second time." **_Sasuke looked between the twisted appearance of Danielle and the even more distorted one of Naruto, gritted his teeth, and vanished. The Angelus knelt down next to the Darkness' head and wrenched it back by the long, greasy locks of black it had formed for itself. It was surprising how much this form it had taken looked like its last host, the Estacado boy. It seemed that that gun-toting child had made more of an impact on the timeless being than it let on. The angelic creature sneered tauntingly at the broken body. _**"It's been **_**so **_**long since I've been able to taste the sweetness of victory! I must thank you for such a wonderful battle." **_She forced the Darkness' face back into the dirt, eliciting a pained groan, and pressed her heeled boot into the back of its skull. _**"But it's time for you to say goodbye now."**_

The swords of light stabbed into the Darkness' back glowed brightly for just a second, before exploding violently. The blast was so powerful that even the Angelus had to leap back out of its radius. It wouldn't hurt her, of course, but she'd like to keep this host a while longer. She felt the will of her host spike for just a moment, and the golden light of her eyes faded into frightful blue for that one instant, before it was back. Still, the way she had called that name during that painfully short period of freedom was absolutely revolting.

"_Naruto-kun!"_

The Angelus clicked her tongue in annoyance and pressed down on Danielle's being, sending it into a deep, comatose-like state, and pushed off the ground as its wings sprung into life. It took off to the east; the direction of Konoha, her host's home. For now, her job was done.

The Darkness was dead for now.

* * *

He felt his face collide with smooth, cold linoleum floors. Pain blossomed over the muscles of his back, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been. He'd been entirely aware of what happened. He'd felt the countless blades turn his back into a pincushion, and felt his flesh burn and melt as they exploded while still impaled in his soft flesh. But right now, it felt like none of that had even happened. He pushed himself from the cold floor and stared for a moment at the pattern of overlapping chequers, each of a faded, pastel colouring. He could see, on the edges of his vision, a small bed with a simple metal frame like the ones in the hospital, and next to it a wooden bedside table, piled messily with comic books each depicting the same individual garbed in black. The cream walls, painted with the same pastel-hued chequer pattern in places, were marred with crude sketches in black marker pen - drawings of serpentine monsters with enormous jaws, of long, bladed tentacles, and of angels. Was that... the Darkness?

"Whoa, sorry about that. Didn't realise you were right behind the door." The familiar voice drifted over his ears, and he turned sharply. Perhaps _too _sharply, as his vision swam and a headache bloomed in his cranium. "You alright there? Did I catch you with the door?" He felt a rough hand gently ease up the thin fabric of his striped pajamas - where had _those _come from - and trace around a patch of sore, burning skin on the small of his back. "Thank God... it doesn't look too bad. Looks like it just clipped your back on the way past. It'll leave a bruise for a while, but nothing major." Naruto felt his face burn, and he gave an indignant cry as the rough fingertips that were obviously _male _danced across his skin intimately, jerking away from the affectionate touch and pressing his painful back against the far wall.

"Jesus, Naruto! What's wrong? I was just making sure you were okay!"

Naruto's lips were parted in silent surprise, and his eyelids hurt from how widely they spread.

"Ka... Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver-haired man smiled warmly, closing both of his eyes. His scarred left eye was uncovered, and when it opened again he could clearly see the Sharingan emblazoned on his iris. But instead of his usual jounin attire of green and blue combat gear, he wore a pale teal shirt with a v-shaped neck and loose, baggy pants of the same colour, ending in white sneakers. He looked like a nurse. That scared Naruto more than anything he'd seen since waking up.

He hated nurses.

"Again with the 'sensei' thing?" Kakashi laughed, stepping closer, only for Naruto to retreat further. "I told you already, didn't I? All this shinobi business, it's all in your head. I'm not your teacher, but I am here to look after you. So there's no reason to be scared of me all of a sudden." He reached out a hand to Naruto, who gingerly took the rough digits. This didn't feel right, and not just because he appeared to be in a hospital, and Kakashi was telling him that being a ninja was ludicrous. He felt like a little child, being led around by his parents. His body felt small and weak compared to Kakashi, who was tall and strong as he pulled him to his feet. Even his skin felt smooth and soft, like a baby's. "I guess this means that you've started having those dreams again, huh?"

Naruto looked at him blankly. What dreams?

"I guess we'd better let Dr. Vick know about this, he'll probably want to amend your prescription. Better head by the dispensary too, before breakfast. C'mon, let's get going." Kakashi led him from the room, and down a similarly decorated corridor, lined with thick, wide doors painted a deep blue colour, each with a thin metal slot in place of a window. This was getting worse by the minute. It felt like... like... oh, what was it!? If he could only remember!

Sunlight streamed through a wide bank of windows that lined the other side of the curved hallway, illuminating the bright greens of a well-tended garden just beyond the glass. Metal bedframes on wheels, like stretchers, were left absently out in the hallway, and he passed a few people he didn't recognise along the path, both as nurses and patients. Naruto followed down two flights of stairs, the sudden descent havoc on his weakened limbs. Thrice he thought his knees were actually going to buckle under the strain. And then, the final open set of double doors came overhead, and Naruto saw what had become of him.

He could see both people he knew and people he didn't milling about this wide, spacious room. Neji was wrapped in a pale cream dressing gown, sat in a wheelchair by the window. He was staring blankly out of the window, not saying a word, with a pair of stoic, dark brown eyes in place of his Byakugan. Shikamaru was sat a few feet away, competently thrashing a nurse at a game of shogi on a metal table, all the while spouting tactics for a war that wasn't happening. He saw Haku and Neru conversing animatedly, sat cross-legged on the floor so close that their knees were touching. Haku looked fairly normal, but Neru was hugging an orange teddy bear tightly to her bust. When she moved, he saw that she'd 'customised' it by carving a set of three thin black lines on each of its cheeks and tying a black sash around its throat.

"Are you alright, Naruto? You look a little lost," Kakashi remarked in worry, stepping closer to him. He followed the blonde's line of sight and smiled. "Did you want to go speak with Neru today? If that's what you want, it's fine with me. I'll talk to the good doctor for you." He brought his lips closer to Naruto's ear and smiled knowingly. "Y'know, I think Neru likes you, Naruto. She'll be really happy if you go spend time with her today. Go on, go have fun." He pushed him forward, and it took Naruto a moment to realise he was moving and a moment more to stop. By then, both girls had noticed him and looked up. Haku smiled politely, but Neru blushed a burning scarlet and hid her face in the back of her teddy's head when she laid eyes on him. He tentatively walked closer, and sat down beside the pair.

"Elated to make your acquaintance," Haku said in a soft, high voice one might hear from a princess or some such noble. "Duchess Haku Momochi of the Frostlands. Might I enquire as to your name?" Naruto stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. Duchess? Frostlands? What was this!? He looked to Neru for answers, but she merely hid her head behind her teddy. He leant closer, and she squeaked and scurried away. Naruto grunted in annoyance. This was getting ridiculous. He sat right in front of her and pushed the bear away from her face, looking into her eyes.

"Neru, what's going on? Where are we?" he asked, and for a moment the question hung in the air. Neru stared silently into his eyes, blush growing ever darker. And when she finally did open her mouth to speak...

"Bababaa... dyudyutchigaa...?"

Naruto jerked backwards. What...? He stood up and looked around again. He walked over to Neji and listened to him mutter under his breath, and realised that he was relaying events, along with their coordinates and relative distances, as if his Byakugan was still active. Shikamaru was talking battle strategy as he'd thought, but he kept mixing tactical warfare with the game at hand, and often he'd order a wooden shogi piece to fire on the enemy with a Katon jutsu. Chouji ignored his presence entirely, continually stuffing his face... well, perhaps that was partially normal. And then, he saw in the corner, a huddled figure with shoulder length hair of a strange blue-black shade falling over his face. His arms were bound at his side by a straightjacket, and his head jerked around as his hidden eyes flitted from person to person, watching them suspiciously. Naruto slowly stepped closer and lifted the heavy black-blue fringe, and leapt back as if burnt.

That boy, wrapped in cloth and leather belts, underneath the messy mop of bluish black, had gleaming crimson eyes that moved.

Naruto screamed.

* * *

**My apologies about the wait, this chapter was harder to write than I thought it was going to be. As you can probably tell, I got a copy of The Darkness II for Christmas (I've already completed it and all the Vendettas twice or so). I don't really have anything to say here, which is kind of unusual for me, so I'm just gonna end it here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for the next one!**


	9. Chapter 9: This Paradise Is Painted

**Chapter 9: This Paradise Is Painted**

It was in this place, this gleaming white hospital with its smooth linoleum floors and cold, sterile air that Uzumaki Naruto realised just how much the Darkness had changed him.

The brightly lit hallways and colourful garden outside should have been relaxing. They were supposed to be relaxing.

They weren't relaxing at all.

There wasn't a single shadow in this place, not one. Everywhere a shred of dark might have lurked, the harsh glare of an industrial strength lightbulb vanquished it. That was what made him feel so on edge, so uncomfortable. In the shadows was where he was safest, where he had the best chance of being able to fight back. Here, he was powerless, and not just because he hadn't been able to feel the overbearing presence of the Darkness pressing against the back of his mind, lashing out across his thoughts with tendrils of black.

He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to be where he could use his powers, where he could protect himself, where he didn't feel weak and vulnerable all the time. He wanted to go back to his apartment; his warm apartment with thick blackout curtains drawn against the sun and soft plush carpets beneath his feet, and Neru waiting to greet him with a smile.

The soft, warm lump pressed intimately into his side gave a tremble, as if sensing his distress. He wanted so very much to pull away from it, knowing what it was, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Nah-toh…?"

The broken word came as a soft, timid whisper; it desperately desired approval and acceptance, terrified of pushing him away. He didn't respond. How could he? What could he say? What comfort could he possibly give this girl who wasn't who she looked like? It acted like her, and looked like her, but it couldn't have been. Not here. Not now. But at the same time, she was so very much like her, that he couldn't bear to part from her. She was an anchor. Apart from her disjointed speech, she was the only one that was anything like her original.

But she wasn't Neru. He couldn't even pretend that she was, like his mind wouldn't let him. The real Neru would never cling to him like this, afraid that he would disappear from between her fingers. The real Neru was all too aware that try as he might to deny it, he couldn't and wouldn't let her go.

For now though, she was close enough.

A shiver travelled down Naruto's spine. It was an uncomfortable feeling that flooded his senses with cold and dread. Sharpened eyes flicked from side to side. He could see each and every one of his friends' replicas from this angle, each caught deep in their own special brand of delusion. Not-Shikamaru was staring at a blank chessboard. Not-Neji had stolen the box from the chess set and was waving each of the two square halves around with reckless abandon. Even Not-Haku was there, standing behind a corner as she watched the group from a distance, eyeing Naruto and Not-Neru in particular with a look of unbridled jealousy. Whether he was jealous of Neru for being near him, as the real Haku would be, or jealous of him for stealing away her friend's precious attention, he couldn't say.

There it was.

The boy with the red eyes. The boy he just knew had to be Not-Sasuke. He couldn't really say for sure, as he had yet to really see the boy's face. But really, how many people had red eyes and would glare at Naruto with such intensity?

The boy stood up. His legs trembled as they supported his weight, and his entire body swayed precariously back and forth as he teetered on the balls of his feet. His hands swung like pendulums at his side, before come to a gentle halt as he steadied himself. His eyes hadn't left Naruto once yet. He took a step forward, a sudden, jerking movement that nearly sent him pitching forward onto the hard laminated floor. Then another, and another, until with little difficulty he arrived at Naruto's side. His body was hunched slightly, and his arms still hung uselessly from his shoulders like they were dead. Down the length of his nose, his crimson eyes smouldered furiously as they remained fixed upon the blonde. And that was it. He stood there, and stood there, and stood there some more, but he neither said another word nor made another move.

"Can I help you?" That was what Naruto had said, but it sounded for all the world like 'go away'. Its meaning was not unclear; he did not want the presence of this boy anywhere near him. But still the boy stood, his lips pressed together in a thin line. Naruto, on the other hand, bared his teeth in a snarl. This boy was pissing him off something royal, and fast. It didn't make any sense. All he was doing was standing there! But why was he standing there? What did he want? Did he want anything at all? Was he trying to bait him? Was he even aware that Naruto was there? Was he delusional as well? Naruto's fingers shot to his temples, clawing at the skin viciously. Urgh! All of the questions were like flies, buzzing about his head and bouncing back and forth, filling his head with an overwhelming buzzing that muffled his thoughts and left only those same questions, tearing at him.

His fist lashed out and caught the boy across the nose in a savage right hook. The boy's unsteady body lurched backwards with the impact and one hand shot to cradle his nose as a thick stream of crimson flowed from his battered nostrils. It oozed over his fingers and dripped onto the pristine white floor, staining it a horrid, haunting scarlet. That wasn't enough. Naruto's left hand closed into a tight fist and hurtled skyward on a collision course with Not-Sasuke's chin, but the boy reacted swiftly by tilting his torso back gracefully and allowing the uppercut to sail harmlessly past his face. With his free hand he caught Naruto's wrist as it ascended and, with the blonde's own limb to steady him, spun on his heel to deliver a crippling crescent kick to the side of his head. The buzzing was replaced momentarily with a horrible ringing as the boy's foot collided, and Naruto felt gravity wrap around him as it pulled him earthward, but he wasn't about to be outdone so easily. His arms were out, rolling with the impact, and was almost instantly upright and in a small, crouched position.

He sprung forward like a pouncing tiger, one hand knocking away the oncoming fist with a lazy backhanded swipe and the other lancing forward with outstretched fingers for Not-Sasuke's exposed throat. The flicker of panic was all too evident in the boy's crimson eyes, and Naruto couldn't help but grin. _This _Sasuke didn't have the Sharingan to help him. His arm took on another burst of speed as it jerked at his neck, but the boy evaded it deftly with a quick slip to the side, hooked his foot behind Naruto's shin, and pulled hard. The blonde felt gravity displace for the second time, but this time there was no saving him as his legs buckled underneath and his arms flailed wildly. The cold, hard floor rushed up to meet him, his back slamming into it painfully. The boy was still standing – over him, in fact – and his leg was raised in the universal indicator of the incoming curb stomp. Naruto smirked triumphantly, a streak of white slashed across his whiskered cheeks. All he needed to do was wrap his Demon Arm around Not-Sasuke's leg and he'd have the other boy at his mercy. He reached out with those dark tendrils, feeling for the sensation of extension he got whenever they curled out from under his skin, and pushed it outward towards Not-Sasuke, confident in his victory.

The wind was forced out of him as the boy's foot slammed itself brutally down onto his ribcage, and he felt his world turn as he instinctively rolled away from the danger, clutching at his sore chest. _That's right, _he thought, _the Darkness isn't here. _Not-Sasuke had no special powers to help him, and neither had he. Desperately he grabbed at the boy's calf, his fingers tightening around the limb painfully, and gave a hearty wrench. He fell to the floor like a sack of bricks as his leg was torn out from under him and he groaned as his spine impacted the merciless floor. But Naruto refused to allow him this time to recover. Within moment he was on him once more, his fingers lacing over Not-Sasuke's throat as he throttled the bastard.

Naruto's cheeks split in a wide, gleeful grin. This was it! He was going to murder the sick, twisted little _fuck _that had ruined his life far too much already! He felt his throat rumble with a low, unearthly laugh as his grip tightened.

Yes, it was painfully clear how much the Darkness had changed him.

Naruto had not been given a chance to respond. There were hands on him, hands far stronger than he had the ability to repel, clawing and pulling at his hands, his arms, his shoulders. Every part of him that they could find a firm grip on. They were trying to pull him off of Not-Sasuke. They were going to deny him this? No! Naruto lashed out with the back of one hand, but that was enough. As if foreseen, a hand grabbed his forearm and pulled, tearing him away from the other boy now that there was only one hand latching the blonde to his throat. Not-Sasuke coughed and spluttered helplessly as Naruto was dragged away, kicking and scrambling. An animal roar leapt from his throat and his eyes were wild in their sockets. The hands were much too strong, and while the rage boiling inside him did not subside, the blind fury that he had lost himself in certainly did, and he felt himself slumping tiredly in the hands' powerful grasp. They caught him under his arms and held him upright, determined not to let him meet the cold floor for a third time.

"That is enough! Both of you should know better! Violence is against our rules!" It was Tsunade that spoke, forcing herself between the two boys with authority. Her hands dug into her voluptuous hips disapprovingly, and the nurse's uniform that was already too tight on her curves shifted in several interesting ways as she tilted her upper body forward to give each of the two her sternest look. Behind her, he could see that Kakashi, still in his own uniform, was gingerly examining Not-Sasuke's neck which had already begun to show a series of small, red-purple bruises from his fingertips. It was Jiraiya that held him up, his thick, strong fingers clasping the joint of Naruto's shoulders as he lifted the blonde. The man's face was as stern and serious as Tsunade's had been – an odd look for a man he had always remembered as jovial and carefree. Had Naruto seen this man at all since he'd returned from the dead? There were so many faces he'd yet to reacquaint himself with, after being away for so long and jumping from mission to mission ever since returning.

"As for you, Naruto," Tsunade snapped, shifting the brunt of her ire onto the blonde. "Doctor Sarutobi wants to see you immediately. I suggest that you do not keep him waiting."

_Sarutobi?_

* * *

Six… no, seven kilometres.

Neru opened her eyes, hurling a scroll over her shoulder and across the darkened apartment, followed closely by a small vial of nutrition pills and a spare pair of gloves. There was never a time that she'd been more grateful for the little shred of Darkness that lived inside her from the moment it had reawakened her all those years ago: it was the only thing that was allowing her to keep track of the raging storm of Darkness energy that was Uzumaki Naruto, while the rest of Konoha's 'military force' buzzed around like flies in the streets below. She held in a disgusted scoff, tossing a pack of explosive tags and a pair of blunted kunai into the steadily growing pile of discarded equipment. Honestly, it was just embarrassing: what kind of ninja believed that Naruto's captors would remain inside the village!?

She thought it her duty, as Naruto's girlfriend, to venture outside of the village - even without the Hokage's consent - and find him, no matter what. With Dani also missing and Haku still at the hospital (Tsunade hadn't wanted her to go running away until she was sure that whatever damage Neru had done to her wasn't too serious, and that her _romp _with Naruto hadn't had any undue side effects), the raven-haired Jōnin was all by herself for this one, not that she'd particularly prefer it otherwise. This way, there were no other distractions, and, even better, when she finally found her Naruto-kun it would be just the two of them, alone, miles away from anyone they knew. That thought alone was enough to force her to stop her rummaging and give a _small _squeal muffled only by her cupped hands.

Finished, she pulled tight the drawstring and lifted the bag onto her back, checking her weapon pouches just in case. Everything was prepared. All she had to do was make it out of the village, which shouldn't be too hard considering Izumo and Kotetsu were probably equally as frantic as any other ninja in the village, and she'd be well on her way. But as she stepped to the double doors that lead out onto the balcony, obscured behind thick blackout curtains, she froze. There was a presence on the other side of those doors, and it wasn't a presence she liked. It wasn't like it was a _person _she didn't like - though this particular power felt horribly familiar, and she had the nagging feeling that it belonged to someone on her personal shit list - but more like the very existence of this being was intrinsically set against her own, like neither of them were supposed to exist at the same time, and especially not a foot apart separated only by a thin wooden door and a strip of fabric. With a practiced ease she slid a kunai out of the pouch tied tightly around her thigh and gripped it between her slender fingers, the other hand reaching slowly and carefully toward the door hand.

She wrenched open the door and immediately lashed out with the blade in hand, only to give a strange strangled groan as it clashed with a bar of pure golden light and melted instantly, turning into useless slag in her hand. With a grunt she discarded it, the burn on her hand healing over almost instantly, and reached for another, only for her wrist to be grabbed by another hand and held fast in a bone-crushing grip. The hand pushed her back into the apartment with so much force that she found herself simply unable to struggle and slowly its owner came into view, a wicked smirk painted across her crushingly beautiful face and the golden glow from her eyes, hair, wings and the blade in her hand filling the room with light.

Neru's dark eyes were wide with shock, and her lips parted in a silent gasp. _Dani?_ No, it couldn't possibly be her, she told herself, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. Whoever or whatever this being was, it had the girl's smooth, elegant beauty and silky golden hair, but her image was twisted and perverted into the unearthly thing that stood before her. That dark smile wasn't one that Danielle Baptiste would ever willingly wear, and the light shining behind her eyes was eerie in ways she couldn't quite explain.

With a level of force that far surpassed even her own Darkness-induced strength 'Dani' sent her to the ground with a final shove and, before Neru could perform whatever counter or reversal she might've cooked up, levelled her blade at the raven-haired Jounin's throat, its edge singing as it hovered ominously mere millimetres from her pale flesh. A silent standoff fostered between the two of them, each competing to defeat the other with the most scathing looks imaginable. Unable to move lest she suffer the removal of her head, Neru could only glare weakly at the smirking angel, whose amused, lopsided grin grew to manic proportions.

"Where is Naruto-kun?" she demanded lamely, gulping nervously at the sight of the light blade dipping beneath her hcin and the heat of its energy against her neck. It was obvious that this girl who looked like Dani but was not Dani knew what had happened to her beloved; she could literally smell the ungodly stench of Darkness all over her, as if she'd gone and taken a bath in the stuff, and only its polar opposite, the brilliant, blinding white light welling up from the depths of her soul and eating away at the shadow like rays of sunlight, could hope to counterbalance it.

Dani's grim was at its widest yet, baring rows of bone white teeth. "I should kill you for addressing me in such a boorish manner," she sneered, her voice echoing and reverberating unnaturally. It was as if a thousand people were all speaking with the same voice, saying the same words. With an ugly leer pulling at her cheeks, she trailed the tip of her sword down Neru's torso, over her generous bust, dipping dangerously close to the thin shirt that served as her only protection. "It's a shame that I'll probably have to kill you anyway," Dani sighed, her voice carrying an unnervingly lecherous tone. "You have such a wonderful body that I'm curious as to what it can really do."

Neru's cheeks burned crimson with a potent mixture of embarrassment and anger. How… _how dare she!? _This body belonged to one person and one person only! Ugh, the very thought of this disgusting angel putting her hands on her sking made her want to vomit! She would never allow anyone to touch her body except her Naruto-kun! **No one!**

The rage exploded from her as little flashes of black leapt from her skin and whipped around her like a tornado. She could feel the power building up inside of her until it felt like it was going to burst. It was the same power she'd felt only a few times in the past; an energy that made her feel like she was queen of the world, indestructible, but at the same time made her feel so sick in her stomach that she just wanted to curl up in a ball and die. With a primal roar she threw herself up at Dani and batted away the blade with the back of her hand, ignoring the fleshy sizzle as it scorched the skin over her knuckles and healed over almost instantly. With her other hand she grabbed hold of Dani's shoulder in a vice grip and raised her burnt hand ready to plough it into the blonde's smug face.

Unfortunately, it was smacked away like a mere annoyance as one of Dani's very real and very large white wings curled around to defend her and Dani grabbed the wrist of the hand on her shoulder once more, smirking victoriously. A band of golden light appeared around Neru's wrist like a shackle, hovering a centimetre over her skin, and when Dani gestured absently with her fingers it rose into the air, dragging Neru with it and dangling her helplessly above the ground. The other wrist soon joined it, and within moments the girl was held handcuffed in midair, completely at Dani's mercy.

"You have more power than I expected," she remarked absently, running a slender finger down Neru's side and over the curve of her breast with an appreciative gaze, delighting in feeling her shiver under her touch. "But it's still nothing more than a shard. Loathe as I am to admit it, he's the only one who has ever given me a proper challenge, and only at his full power. I'm sorry, but you entered a battle that you had no hope of winning." She raised her light sword and pressed it lightly against Neru's stomach, burning away the thin shirt and revealing the pale skin of her bare midriff. An ugly twisted scar marred her otherwise perfect body around her navel, and it was this very imperfection that held Dani's full attention.

"Here," she whispered, placing her palm flat against the scar and closing her eyes. "This is where that wretch's power is coming from, isn't it?" Another smirk flashed across her lips. "You aren't bearing his child, are you?" She shook her head. "No, it's an even deeper connection than that, isn't it? The two of you are bound in ways that surpass mere lovers. He shattered the laws of life and death for you… I'm a little jealous. It's so difficult to find a man quite as… dedicated nowadays."

"Let go of me." Neru's words were slow and deliberate, betraying the ice cold fury that flooded her veins.

"Mm-mm, I'm afraid I'm not in a position to allow that. As long as the tiniest shred of that abomination's power lingers, he has an avenue to return. And that, my dear, lovely little girl, is something that I cannot abide."

With a single, fluid motion, Dani's hand shot forward and speared through Neru's stomach in a violent spray of crimson. The raven-haired Romano couldn't even scream as the angel's hand fished around inside her, her arm dripping with blood and gore that pooled around her feet, until finally Dani's hand froze stiff inside her and tensed, earning another in a series of pitiful whimpers from her prisoner. She drew her hand back like a fishing line, whipping her arm out with another spattering of flesh and blood, and in her was what looked like a human heart, though horrifically deformed. It was almost entirely pitch black and covered in tiny scales, with little yellow lights like hundreds of eyes flashing and blinking in intricate patterns. It had a number of thck tubes, just like a normal heart, but each of them were severed and oozed a thick, viscous ichor that looked like tar and reeked of rotting flesh. Even torn from Neru's body it continued to beat feverishly, and a high-pitched scream tore from its form as Dani slowly crushed it in her hand, bright golden light shining from between her fingers.

As the black ooze that coated her fingers evaporated under the fire in her palm, turning into a pungent black smoke that just seemed to disappear with the night breeze, the manacles around Neru's wrists shattered into shards of light and vanished. Her body dropped to the floor limply, the loud thud filling the suddenly silent apartment, and laid still. Her blood soaked the carpet a rich crimson, pooling around her immobile form. The Angelus had a strange mixture of amusement and derision in its eyes as it watched the girl fall helplessly. She wasn't dead yet, but it wouldn't be long. Without the Darkness' power, there was no way she could survive such a wound, and there were other places she had to visit before this vile settlement would be fully cleansed of the Darkness' influence. Casting one last scathing look at Neru as a strange, choked gurgle forced itself out of her throat, pursued by a mouthful of rich, dark blood, the Angelus stepped out onto the balcony and spread her shimmering wings.

"The stars are out tonight," she noted absently, staring up at the night sky's black expanse dotted with tiny white pinpricks, each a distant fire. A smile spread across her cheeks, a pink tongue darting out to wet her full lips with anticipation. "My, it is such a wonderful night to win." She set a foot against the railing, ready to kick off, and surveyed the village, looking for her next target. The hospital looked like it would be a good choice; another of the Darkness host's whores was inside, and after that it would be child's play to take care of the rest of his vassals. But as she move to leap off and soar into the night, she felt something pass through her and her foot faltered, very nearly sending her over the lip of the balcony. It was a power not wholly unlike her own, but at the same time vastly different. It screamed "Get away!" with all its might, and what was worse, she felt herself _actually compelled to agree! _Her eyes widened in surprise and recognition. "No! Not here! How can you be here!?" she screamed at the night. She had to get away, she realised. There was nothing she could do, not with that presence all but forcing her to flee. Her legs ached from the speed with which she jumped from the balcony, and with a scream of frustration she hurried into the night, far from Naruto's apartment and far from the dying girl inside.

The edges of her vision were darkening rapidly, and the heavy beating of her heart pounded in her ears as it continued to force blood through her arteries and out through the gaping hole in her abdomen. The bright light on the edge of her sight vanished as Dani took off, but another flicker of movement caught what little attention she could gather. A flash of white, green and brown, approaching quickly, and a pair of bright, lively amber orbs staring at her with such compassion that were she not dying Neru would have felt touched. A hand, rough and calloused - just like Naruto-kun's - pressed against her stomach, pushing its fingers gently into the wound. It didn't matter. She couldn't feel it anymore, so they might as well have been rooting around in her sock drawer for all the difference it made. She very much doubted that any medical ninjutsu this person might know could save her now, not even if it was Tsunade herself. But then the person with their hand in her gut said something that made her stop for a moment.

"Don't you worry about a thing," they said in a soft, calming voice that undoubtedly belonged to a woman - a young girl, if she wasn't mistaken, with a tomboyish growling undertone. "I'll fix you up right as rain, you'll see. I won't let you die… nee-sama."

* * *

"Do you understand what you are doing here, Naruto?"

The hard look that the Sandaime Hokage – or rather, a man who wore the face of the Sandaime Hokage – was a little nostalgic. How many years had it been since that same look had been directed at him last? Well, Sarutobi himself had been dead for over three years already, so…

What, was he expected to fall for this illusion? He let out a sour scoff under his breath. There was no doubt in his mind that this was all a lie. It wasn't as if he could pass it off as some sick mockery of an afterlife, either – he had experienced firsthand what would become of him when he died. It was the same fate that awaited each and every Darkness host when they reached the end of their lives. _The Otherworld. _The hellish, scarred wasteland where two armies of immortal soldiers waged eternal war on each other for reasons they simply didn't know. So, with this knowledge in mind, Naruto had no intention of playing along with their charade. In fact, his only plan was to be as difficult and belligerent as possible: maybe then this world, whatever it was, would get fed up with him and spit him back out.

"Not really. I guess I'm wondering first and foremost how an old fart like you became a doctor, and what in the name of tits possessed Ero-sennin to become a nurse."

Was it wrong that a wave of satisfaction passed through him at the very noticeable twitch in Sarutobi's left eye?

"We aren't your enemies, Naruto. We are here to help you get well again."

"Is that so?" He put a finger to his chin thoughfully. "See, I don't really think there's anything _wrong _with me. Other than a bad case of _itchy trigger finger. _You ever get that?" He raised his hand, fingers curled as if gripping an invisible pistol that was levelled right at Sarutobi's forehead. "Ever get the feeling that you just want to pull that trigger and make someone's head…" he bucked his hand back in imaginary recoil, a fake gunshot noise passing his lips as he broke out in a grin, "…pop?"

"Now, Naruto, I know that this isn't your normal voice. I do not wish to talk to your 'Darkness' voice today."

Naruto's eyes narrowed into slits, and his sapphire blue eyes flickered an angry golden yellow.

"My 'Darkness' voice?" he repeated incredulously. "Are you fucking retarded? You think that this is the Darkness? Listen, old man, you haven't even _begun _to see what the Darkness is capable of. If I let the Darkness out right now, there wouldn't be enough left of you to sweep up! This, right here, is 100%, all natural, Uzumaki Naruto, bitch! How'd ya like the flavour, cockbite!?"

Naruto had risen in his chair so that his feet were on the cushion while he himself sat in a strange crouching position, gripping the arms of the chair so hard they might have snapped. He could see that Sarutobi hadn't so much as flinched the entire time. The _real _Sarutobi Hiruzen would have been startled at the very least at such an outburst. There was no way he would have just sat there and taken it like… like some kind of machine.

"You won't scare me, Naruto. I know you. I know that you aren't normally like this. You're a fine boy, and you would only need to let go of the 'Darkness' to prove it to me, and to everyone."

Naruto's tirade stopped for a moment. His mouth opened and closed a few times, searching for the right words. There were only a handful of occasions that he had been struck by the _sheer stupidity _of a statement that he could not form a response. This… this _thing, _that wore jiichan's face and spoke with his voice, thought it _knew _him? He'd never heard something so fucking ridiculous in his entire life! He laughed aloud, the shrill, mocking sound that indeed wasn't his usual laugh filling the sterile office eerily.

"You… you stupid little _fuck," _he spat, spearing Sarutobi with a murderous stare. "Don't act like you know anything more than _shit _about me. You're nothing but a fake, a phony, an illusion." He watched as Sarutobi's expression turned solemn and he gave a tired sigh, sweeping a hand across his bald patch.

"We've had this discussion before, Naruto," he droned. "If you now it's an illusion, you could make it go away. But you can't make it go away, because _it is not an illusion."_

A manic grin formed on Naruto's face. His eyes were alight with excitement, and his limbs were trembling with anticipation. The look he sent at 'Doctor' Sarutobi was the kind of look that said 'I'll rip you limb from limb then lynch your family with your entrails'.

"I can't make it go away, huh?" he asked, his muscles tensing up all of a sudden, pressing against his skin grotesquely. _"Just you_ _fucking watch me."_

* * *

**Howzit?**

**Been a while, hasn't it? I don't know what's happening, really: my motivation for writing, or indeed anything at all, has just vanished with the wind. It's really quite frustrating. Hopefully with the new Creative Writing course I'm starting at college I'll be able to nab some inspiration, but for now I'm really sorry that this is taking so long and I will endeavour to make these updates a little sooner. Welp, that's really all I have to say here, other than that I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I beg you to leave some kind of review or feedback, even if you must flame, and goodnight!**

**Next Time, on FSIR:  
****Time to break the chains! Naruto rejects the asylum as adamantly as possible, but will it be enough to save him? Will this strange place be so willing to let him go? Meanwhile, the Angelus' attack on Neru has forced another power to take action. How will this affect what is to come? What has become of the Angelus? Just when will we finally get round to the Chunin Exams? Find out, in the next instalment of From the Shadows I Rise! (Rolls credits with Snow Fairy by Funkist)**


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